Coinbase Unites Industry Giants in Bitcoin Quantum Defense Effort
Coinbase has launched the Bitcoin Security Consortium to shield the $2 trillion network from quantum threats. The consortium, which includes industry giants such as BlackRock and Fidelity Digital Assets, aims to research and develop open-source solutions to prepare for future quantum computer attacks.
Coinbase will provide engineering resources directly to open-source Bitcoin development and support post-quantum cryptography efforts, including implementing the BIP-360 proposal. The company is also developing PQ-CoreKMS, a post-quantum version of its proprietary key management system, which will be used to generate new signature schemes that are quantum-safe.
The consortium's goal is to make Bitcoin more resilient and protect it from being outcompeted by quantum computers, which are still years away but will eventually pose a significant threat. Coinbase believes now is the time to act because upgrades to decentralized networks are costly and time-consuming.