Coinbase Forms Bitcoin Security Consortium to Shield Network from Quantum Threats

Coinbase has launched the Bitcoin Security Consortium to shield the $2T network from potential quantum threats. The consortium brings together industry giants, including BlackRock, Fidelity Digital Assets, Block, and others, to research and develop open-source solutions for post-quantum cryptography.

The initiative aims to prepare Bitcoin for the challenges of next-generation cybersecurity, which experts believe is still years away but will become a reality in the future. Coinbase believes that upgrades to decentralized networks are costly and time-consuming, so it's essential to start preparing now.

Coinbase will provide engineering resources directly to open-source Bitcoin development and support quantum-resistant progress endeavors. The company is also developing PQ-CoreKMS, a post-quantum version of its proprietary key management system, which uses multi-party computation technology (MPC) to achieve approximately 99.9% of its assets in custody.

The consortium will hold a technical workshop at Stanford University in August to encourage industry cooperation and focus on real engineering considerations. Coinbase believes that this collaboration is crucial to assisting the Bitcoin ecosystem in preparing for quantum computing threats long in advance.