Insider Brief
- A group of major financial institutions and Bitcoin companies has launched the Bitcoin Security Consortium with $15 million in combined funding commitments over three years.
- The consortium will support Bitcoin security research and development efforts, including work related to preparing the network for potential future quantum computing threats.
- Founding members will independently direct funding while the consortium focuses on supporting open-source developers and providing information on Bitcoin security efforts.
Press release – A group of leading financial institutions and Bitcoin companies today announced the formation of the Bitcoin Security Consortium, an initiative dedicated to supporting the long-term security and resilience of the Bitcoin network, backed by an aggregate $15 million in member pledges over the next three years.
Founding members are Anchorage Digital, ARK Invest, BlackRock, Block, Blockstream, Coinbase, Fidelity Digital Assets®, Galaxy, and Strategy, a cross-section of the institutional Bitcoin ecosystem that includes holders, custodians, exchanges, infrastructure providers, payments providers, and asset managers, united by a shared interest in Bitcoin’s continued security.
The Consortium’s day-to-day work is coordinated by Mike Schmidt, Executive Director of Brink, a 501c3 non-profit that funds and supports Bitcoin open-source developers, who serves in a volunteer capacity.
$15 Million Pledged
The Consortium will help fund and support the developers and researchers already working on Bitcoin’s security, including the long-term work of preparing Bitcoin for a potential era of quantum computing. As part of the launch, members have independently pledged an aggregate of $15 million over the next three years toward this work. Each member directs its own funding independently to the developers, researchers, and organizations it chooses.
The Consortium will also serve as a clear and reliable source of information on these efforts for investors, the public, and the media.
“As long-term holders, we have every incentive to see Bitcoin remain secure for generations. Funding the people who do this work, and helping inform the conversation around it, is a natural way for us to contribute.” – Phong Le, Chief Executive Officer of Strategy.
Supporting the Existing Open Ecosystem
The Consortium is modeled on the way industry groups have long supported the open-source software they depend on, contributing resources and awareness without controlling the underlying work.
It does not develop or direct Bitcoin’s protocol, takes no position on specific protocol changes, and does not speak for Bitcoin or its developers. Bitcoin’s development is, and will remain, the work of a global, decentralized community of contributors.
“Bitcoin Core developers do incredibly important work, and we’re pleased that our firm and the others in this group will now be making significant additional funding available to support Bitcoin’s long-term security needs.” – Robert Mitchnick, Global Head of Digital Assets at BlackRock.
The Quantum Question
Large-scale quantum computers capable of threatening Bitcoin’s cryptography do not exist today, and credible estimates place such capability years away. Preparing post-quantum protections is nonetheless a meaningful long-term priority, and one the Bitcoin technical community is already actively working on. The Consortium aims to support that work and to provide a grounded reference point for investors, the public, and the media as the field develops.
Looking ahead
In the coming months the Consortium intends to publish and maintain material on Bitcoin’s security, updated as developments warrant, and to continue funding and supporting the developer community. Bitcoin has proven remarkably resilient through the work of an open, global community, and the Consortium is proud to support that community.
More information is available at https://x.com/BTCconsortium
