Galaxy Digital launches the “Bitcoin Quantum-Ready Program,” after injecting $5 million in funding to support the development of quantum cryptography

Facing the disruptive threats that future Quantum Computing may bring, crypto finance giant Galaxy Digital has officially fired the first shot in its Bitcoin security defense battle. According to the company’s official announcement released on July 21, Galaxy said it is launching the “Bitcoin Quantum Readiness Initiative,” pledging up to $5 million in developer grants, establishing an authoritative quantum advisory council, and calling on the entire industry to focus on and upgrade Bitcoin’s post-quantum cryptography defenses.
(Background: A “Quantum Surge” executive order signed by the Trump White House, publicly praising IBM CEO; the stock jumped 3% premarket)
(Additional background: G7 central bank’s first report: Quantum computers can break modern encryption within 10 years! Warns of a systemic crisis of “harvest first, decrypt later”)

Table of Contents

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• Quantum timeline compressed, Bitcoin cryptography faces a test
• Build defense lines with three pillars! Provide $5 million in developer grants
• Novogratz: We have a responsibility to protect Bitcoin’s long-term security

To protect decentralized assets worth thousands of billions of dollars, the global crypto industry must start racing against time. On July 21, 2026 Beijing time, digital asset and blockchain finance giant Galaxy Digital released an official press release announcing the launch of the “Galaxy Bitcoin Quantum Readiness Initiative,” aiming to build a defense system for the Bitcoin network to respond to quantum computer attacks through funding support, authoritative research, and expert guidance.

Quantum timeline compressed, Bitcoin cryptography faces a test

The security foundation of the Bitcoin network mainly relies on “elliptic curve cryptography” (ECC). However, with rapid progress in quantum computing, theoretically sufficiently powerful quantum computers (e.g., using Shor’s algorithm) would have the capability to break traditional cryptography. Although quantum computers capable of meaningful cryptographic breaking have not yet emerged, the timeline for the threat is being significantly shortened.

The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released the first post-quantum cryptography (PQC) standards in 2024, and the U.S. government has also issued executive orders requiring federal systems to fully defend against quantum attacks by 2031. Galaxy specifically pointed out that because Bitcoin uses decentralized governance, a protocol upgrade—from design, review, and testing to deployment across all network nodes—often takes years. However, the number of engineers currently focused on Bitcoin quantum resiliency development is extremely limited and completely disproportionate to the scale of potential risk.

Build defense lines with three pillars! Provide $5 million in developer grants

To address this disadvantage, Galaxy’s quantum readiness program will be built on three core pillars:

• Developer Grant Program: Galaxy has promised to provide up to $5 million in funding to support researchers and developers working on post-quantum cryptography solutions. Priority support areas include: implementation and review of anti-quantum transaction proposals, integration of post-quantum signature schemes into Bitcoin, wallet and custody migration tools, and formal security audits. Applications open starting immediately, and grant disbursement will follow a milestone-based mechanism.
• Research and Publishing Program: Galaxy Research will continuously release in-depth reports on quantum threats and defense progress, providing rigorous yet easy-to-understand information for institutional investors, policymakers, and the community.
• Quantum Advisory Council: Invite top experts in the field of quantum computing and post-quantum cryptography worldwide to guide research directions and evaluate developer proposals. The inaugural members include Barry Sanders, Director of the Quantum City Science at the University of Calgary; MIT expert Damien Bérubé; and Eran Tromer, a professor of computer science at Boston University.

Novogratz: We have a responsibility to protect Bitcoin’s long-term security

Regarding this forward-looking strategic layout, Galaxy founder and CEO Mike Novogratz said: “As a pioneer in the digital asset space, we believe we have a responsibility to help address the potential threats quantum computing poses to Bitcoin. This initiative reflects our commitment to ensure Bitcoin’s long-term security through research, funding, and ecosystem support.”

Galaxy Research Head Alex Thorn added that while quantum computing technology is developing rapidly, the Bitcoin development community is only just beginning to take seriously the arrival of the post-quantum era. Galaxy hopes to play a bridging role—on one hand helping the market understand where the threats are, and on the other providing a funding source for the most challenging underlying technical engineering.

Advisory council expert Barry Sanders emphasized that governments worldwide and the traditional financial industry are already preparing for the quantum era, and Bitcoin cannot be the exception. Galaxy calls on institutions, developers, and research teams across the industry to respond together, joining forces to build post-quantum encryption defenses that can withstand future threats.