Galaxy Digital (NASDAQ: $GLXY) has established a $5 million U.S. fund to help developers protect Bitcoin (CRYPTO: $BTC) from threats posed by quantum computing.
Galaxy Digital, a crypto financial services firm, says it will begin accepting applications for the "Galaxy Bitcoin Quantum Readiness Initiative" immediately.
Grants administered through the fund will focus on developing quantum-resistant signature schemes, crypto wallet migration tools, and security audits.
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The hope is that other firms will also contribute money to the fund and help develop research that accelerates the transition to quantum-resistant cryptography.
Bitcoin secures wallets and transactions with cryptographic techniques that current computers cannot break.
However, analysts say it is only a matter of time before more powerful quantum computers are able to attack the blockchain of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, leading to security problems.
Governments and industry around the world are adopting quantum-resistant standards before the threat posed by quantum computers becomes a reality.
In the event that quantum computers become capable of breaking Bitcoin's cryptography, roughly 6.9 million BTC worth $461 billion U.S. could become vulnerable to theft, according to CryptoQuant research.
While researchers agree that the threat is not imminent, many companies and experts argue that preparations need to begin now to safeguard Bitcoin in the future.
The U.S. Commerce Department is in the process of awarding more than $2 billion U.S. to nine quantum computing companies building machines capable of breaking Bitcoin's cryptography.
The goal of the Commerce Department project is to help defend Bitcoin and the cryptography that the internet runs on.
BTC is trading at $66,300 U.S. on July 21. GLXY stock has declined 8% in the past 12 months to trade at $25.20 U.S. per share.