Coinbase has outlined a new push to prepare Bitcoin infrastructure for a future in which quantum computing could threaten current cryptographic systems, while stressing that such a threat is not immediate. Alongside that effort, the company helped launch an industry group that has pledged $15 million over three years to support Bitcoin security work.
Industry group formed
The new Bitcoin Security Consortium includes Coinbase, BlackRock, Fidelity Digital Assets, Block, Strategy, Anchorage Digital, ARK Invest, Blockstream and Galaxy. The participants said they would provide funding for developers, researchers and organizations working on Bitcoin security.
According to Coinbase, the consortium’s members will not control Bitcoin development or make protocol decisions. Their role will instead be to decide which projects receive financial support. The group also plans to share information on Bitcoin security developments with investors and the public.
Coinbase said its own engineers will take part in open-source work tied to post-quantum migration efforts, including proposals such as BIP-360.
Armstrong warns against waiting
Chief executive Brian Armstrong said the industry should start preparing before quantum machines become capable of breaking today’s cryptography. He said no one knows when a fault-tolerant quantum computer may arrive, which is why planning cannot be left until the last minute.
Earlier this year, Coinbase set up an Independent Advisory Board on Quantum Computing and Blockchain to assess realistic risks and suggest practical responses. The board concluded that existing blockchain cryptography will need to be replaced. It also said the main obstacle is not designing new cryptographic tools, but coordinating a migration across decentralized networks and millions of users.
Custody systems already being upgraded
Coinbase said its proprietary CoreKMS key management system currently protects about 99.9% of the digital assets it holds in custody. The company added that it has already begun building PQ-CoreKMS, a post-quantum version of that platform.
Within the next year, Coinbase expects to roll out an automated signing pipeline that uses secure enclaves, threshold cryptography and secret-sharing technologies. The company said the system is intended to support post-quantum signature algorithms as blockchains begin moving toward new cryptographic standards.
Coinbase also said it has started a broader review of cryptographic systems across its business. It is ranking migration priorities based on the importance of each system, its level of exposure and the complexity of implementation, while also setting milestones that would trigger upgrades.
Bitcoin and Base planning
The company said it will host a working session with Stanford in August, bringing together Bitcoin Core developers, cryptographers and researchers to discuss practical migration strategies for a future where quantum computers are viable. Coinbase said it plans to hold similar sessions on a recurring basis as the technical work develops.
Beyond Bitcoin, Coinbase said it is also studying how Ethereum’s post-quantum roadmap could affect Base, its Layer 2 network, before making further migration plans there.
BlackRock’s head of digital assets, Robert Mitchnick, said Bitcoin Core developers are carrying out valuable work and that added funding could strengthen Bitcoin network security over the long term.
Source: Cryptopolitan