Galaxy Digital (GLXY) said it created a $5 million fund for Bitcoin developers working to protect the network from the possible future threat posed by quantum computing.
The crypto financial services company said it will begin accepting applications for the Galaxy Bitcoin Quantum Readiness Initiative immediately, and that grants will focus on the development of quantum-resistant signature schemes, wallet migration tools, and security audits. The company said it hopes other companies will contribute funding and research to accelerate the transition to quantum-resistant cryptography.
Bitcoin secures wallets and transactions with cryptographic techniques that current computers cannot decrypt in a significant period of time. While quantum computing is still too immature to attack the blockchain, advances in the technology have accelerated government and industry efforts to adopt quantum-resistant standards before the threat becomes a reality.
In the event that quantum computers are able to break Bitcoin’s cryptography, approximately 6.9 million bitcoins could become vulnerable to theft, according to research by CryptoQuant. At the current price of about $66,800, that’s equivalent to about $461 billion.
