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A new group called the Bitcoin Security Consortium has been formed with $15 million in funding committed over three years. This is a first-of-its-kind effort, bringing together nine major financial companies and Bitcoin businesses to directly support the people who work on Bitcoin’s underlying software.
Who Is In It
Anchorage Digital, ARK Invest, BlackRock, Block, Blockstream, Coinbase, Fidelity Digital Assets, Galaxy, and Strategy are the initial members. This diverse group includes companies that hold Bitcoin, manage digital assets, provide infrastructure, and operate exchanges and custodians – and notably, one of the largest corporate Bitcoin holders.
We’re excited to introduce the Bitcoin Security Consortium (@BTCconsortium), a new group of top financial and Bitcoin companies dedicated to keeping the Bitcoin network secure for the future. These members have collectively committed $15 million over the next three years to support this important work.
— Strategy (@Strategy) July 23, 2026
Mike Schmidt, the executive director of Brink, handles the daily coordination. Brink is a nonprofit that provides funding and guidance to developers working on open-source Bitcoin projects. Schmidt volunteers his time and isn’t connected to any specific organization within the Bitcoin community.
This group has two main aims: to financially support the people developing and researching Bitcoin’s security, and to keep investors, the media, and the public informed about their progress. Currently, they’re prioritizing getting Bitcoin ready for the future possibility of quantum computing.
We’re committed to Bitcoin’s long-term security, as we plan to hold it for many years to come,” explained Phong Le, CEO of Strategy. “Supporting the developers who work on this and encouraging open discussion about it is simply our way of helping.”
The Denials Are the Story
The announcement focuses heavily on clarifying what this group *doesn’t* do. It emphasizes that they don’t control or change Bitcoin’s underlying code, aren’t taking sides on technical debates, and don’t represent the entire Bitcoin community or its creators. Each member operates and voices their opinions separately, with the announcement stressing that the future of Bitcoin is ultimately decided by its users.
The repeated discussion highlights how carefully everyone is proceeding. With Bitcoin, around 41 main developers are responsible for the software that protects over a trillion dollars worth of assets, and figuring out how to fund their work has always been a key issue – especially since Bitcoin doesn’t have a traditional management structure. While companies have long supported Bitcoin development – like Block with Spiral, Blockstream with research, and OKX by sponsoring developers – these were all companies deeply involved in the Bitcoin world from the start.
The recent shift involves established financial firms like BlackRock, Fidelity, and ARK Invest. Traditionally focused on standard investments, they’re now entering the Bitcoin space through exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and client requests, and are starting to directly fund the developers building the underlying technology.
BlackRock’s Robert Mitchnick stated that the work of Bitcoin Core developers is vital, and his firm, along with others, is increasing funding to help ensure Bitcoin’s future security.
From my perspective as an analyst, this consortium positions itself similarly to existing industry groups who support open-source software – they aim to contribute resources and raise awareness without dictating how that software evolves. However, a key question remains: will this same collaborative approach work when the contributors are some of the world’s biggest financial institutions? The structure of this consortium appears designed to address that very concern proactively.
What $15 Million Buys
The figure lands differently depending on which side of it you stand.
As a researcher tracking Bitcoin development funding, I’ve found that $5 million annually is a significant amount. For context, Brink currently funds four to six engineers each year, with salaries ranging from $120,000 to $180,000. The Human Rights Foundation’s Bitcoin Development Fund also provides substantial support, distributing grants of around 1.3 to 1.5 billion satoshis each quarter. Additionally, Bitwise contributed $233,000 this year, fulfilling part of their commitment to donate 10% of the gross profits from their Bitcoin ETF.
Organizations like Brink, OpenSats, HRF, Spiral, and Chaincode currently operate with annual budgets in the low single-digit millions. This new funding effort could potentially match or even exceed the total amount these groups receive.
Compared to the overall finances of these companies, the amount is very small. Dividing $15 million equally over three years comes out to about $555,000 per company each year. This group includes a firm managing a Bitcoin ETF worth tens of billions of dollars, and another company whose entire business is focused on Bitcoin.
Both measurements are correct, but the difference between them is what’s truly important: the organizations that would suffer the most from a Bitcoin security problem aren’t doing much to help prevent it.
Some of the Money May Already Be Announced
Something caught my eye that feels important. Just two days before this new project launched, Galaxy Digital announced they were putting $5 million into developing Bitcoin’s defenses against quantum computing. And, interestingly, Galaxy is one of the original backers of this new project, which makes that timing seem even more significant to me as an investor.
The announcement states that members have collectively promised $15 million, but each is sending their contribution directly to the developers and organizations they support. This means the $15 million isn’t a single shared fund, but a collection of individual pledges. It’s unclear if the $5 million Galaxy previously committed is included in that $15 million total. If it is, then these firms have pledged $10 million in new funding.
The Quantum Framing Is Notably Restrained
Despite working on quantum computing – a field that could eventually break Bitcoin’s security – the team emphasizes that powerful enough quantum computers don’t exist yet, and experts believe they are still years away. They do, however, see preparing for this potential future as an important, ongoing effort within the tech community.
This approach intentionally avoids sensationalizing the issue, and it supports the group’s aim to ensure discussions accurately represent the current progress. Group members are actively addressing the topic – for example, Blockstream suggested a way to protect against quantum computing threats in their recent report, and BlackRock highlighted this risk in their ETF filing, anticipating it as early as 2025.
Quantum computing is increasingly discussed in relation to Bitcoin’s price, and the U.S. government has ordered all federal systems to switch to quantum-resistant encryption by 2031.
What to Watch
The group plans to release and regularly update information about Bitcoin’s security over the next few months, adjusting the content as new things happen.
The upcoming test won’t be as extensive as initially indicated. It *is* possible to fund open-source projects without controlling them, as Bitcoin’s current supporters have demonstrated for years. However, those supporters aren’t legally obligated to act in the best interests of millions of ETF investors who expect a certain performance from the asset. If a controversial update to the system arises, the group’s commitment to remaining neutral will be more valuable than any financial contribution they make.
2026-07-23 16:38