Galaxy Digital has pledged up to $5 million in grants to open-source developers working to strengthen Bitcoin against future quantum computing threats, as concerns grow over whether powerful quantum machines could eventually compromise the cryptography protecting the network.
The initiative will support research and development across post-quantum cryptography, quantum-resistant Bitcoin upgrades, new signature schemes, wallet and custodian migration tools, and formal security audits.
Galaxy has also established a quantum advisory council under its Bitcoin Quantum Readiness Initiative, bringing together specialists in quantum computing, cryptography, and computer science to study how Bitcoin could safely transition toward quantum-resistant security.
The advisory council includes Barry Sanders, professor and scientific director of Quantum City at the University of Calgary; Damien Bérubé, an MIT Sea Grant Knauss fellow; and Eran Tromer, professor of computer science at Boston University.
Why quantum computing could become a risk for Bitcoin
Bitcoin currently relies on cryptographic systems that are considered extremely secure against conventional computers. However, sufficiently advanced quantum computers could theoretically threaten some of the mathematical assumptions underlying Bitcoin’s digital signatures.
The concern is particularly relevant for Bitcoin addresses where public keys have already been exposed or where coins are held using older or less secure address-management practices.
According to Glassnode estimates cited in the report, approximately 30% of Bitcoin’s supply could potentially face some level of exposure if cryptographically relevant quantum computers become viable.
That estimate includes roughly 10% described as “structurally unsafe” because of output types and another 20% considered “operationally unsafe” because of key or address-management practices.
This does not mean those Bitcoins are currently vulnerable. The risk depends on the future development of quantum computers powerful and stable enough to break existing cryptographic protections.
Galaxy wants to build migration tools before the threat arrives
Galaxy’s initiative focuses not only on researching new cryptographic algorithms but also on solving the practical challenge of migrating Bitcoin to stronger security standards.
Any major post-quantum transition could require changes across the broader Bitcoin ecosystem, including wallets, exchanges, institutional custodians, mining infrastructure and individual holders.
Developers would need mechanisms allowing users to move Bitcoin from potentially vulnerable addresses into new quantum-resistant structures.
Galaxy’s grants are therefore expected to support Bitcoin upgrade proposals, post-quantum signature systems, migration infrastructure and independent security reviews needed to make such a transition possible.
Preparing early could be critical because upgrading a decentralized network as large as Bitcoin would require extensive technical development, testing and community coordination.
Experts disagree on how urgent the quantum threat
The Bitcoin community remains divided over when quantum computing could become a realistic security threat.
Blockstream CEO Adam Back has argued that Bitcoin may have 20 to 40 years before quantum computers pose a meaningful danger, potentially giving developers plenty of time to implement stronger cryptographic standards.
Other researchers and institutions believe preparation should happen much sooner.
Wealth management firm Bernstein reportedly estimated that Bitcoin may have approximately three to five years to begin preparing seriously for a post-quantum security upgrade.
The wide difference between these timelines reflects the uncertainty surrounding quantum computing development.
Building a quantum computer capable of attacking modern cryptographic systems would require major advances in hardware reliability, error correction, scalability and computational power.
New cryptographic standards could provide a migration path
Work on quantum-resistant cryptography is already advancing beyond the crypto industry.
In 2024, the US National Institute of Standards and Technology finalized its first major post-quantum cryptography standards, providing standardized algorithms designed to remain secure against attacks from both conventional and quantum computers.
These standards could eventually influence how blockchain networks approach quantum security.
Bitcoin researchers are also exploring alternative approaches.
In late 2025, Blockstream Research published work examining a hash-based signature scheme as a possible route toward securing Bitcoin in a post-quantum environment.
Such an approach could potentially replace or supplement Bitcoin’s existing ECDSA and Schnorr signature systems with cryptography relying primarily on hash functions, which are generally considered more resistant to known quantum attacks.
Galaxy’s $5 million commitment reflects a broader principle emerging around Bitcoin security: the network does not need to wait for a quantum computer capable of breaking cryptography before preparing for one.
Because changing Bitcoin’s cryptographic foundations could take years of research, testing, consensus building and user migration, developing quantum-resistant infrastructure well in advance may be one of the most important long-term security challenges facing the Bitcoin ecosystem.
