Nine organizations from across the crypto industry have formed the Quantum Alliance, an open standards group intended to establish a shared definition of what it means for a blockchain, wallet or related infrastructure to be “quantum-ready.” The initiative comes as the group warns that about 6.04 million Bitcoin, or roughly 30% of the cryptocurrency’s supply, could be exposed to future quantum attacks.
According to Decrypt, the alliance was launched by contributors representing base-layer blockchain protocols, privacy networks, rollups, hardware wallets and security auditing. Its founding participants include Quantus, Postquant Labs, the Midnight Foundation, Keystone, Abelian and security firm Hacken, alongside other organizations.
Building a common quantum-security standard
The alliance’s central objective is to address the lack of an industry-wide method for assessing quantum-resistance claims. Blockchain projects can describe themselves as protected against quantum computing, but there is currently no universally accepted definition of that label or a common testing process to support it.
The Quantum Alliance plans to create criteria for evaluating those claims and compatibility rules for networks as they move toward different forms of cryptography. It says its proposals will be based on publicly available evidence and working implementations rather than the size of a participating company or the amount of tokens it holds. The group also plans to publish its work openly.
The structure is modeled on the Internet Engineering Task Force, the standards body associated with many of the protocols underlying the internet. The alliance will organize its work into four areas:
- Blockchain migration to post-quantum cryptography
- Post-quantum zero-knowledge systems
- Wallet security
- Compatibility between different blockchain networks
Quantus founder and chief executive Christopher Smith said the industry will eventually treat post-quantum cryptography as ordinary cryptography, with older systems becoming obsolete.
Why Bitcoin and crypto infrastructure are exposed
Most major blockchains use elliptic-curve digital signatures to protect accounts. These signatures help prove that a transaction has been authorized by the holder of a private key. Public keys and transaction information can, in some circumstances, become visible on a blockchain ledger.
A sufficiently powerful quantum computer running Shor’s algorithm could theoretically use exposed public-key information to derive a corresponding private key. That could allow an attacker to take control of funds associated with the account. The alliance’s estimate places approximately 6.04 million BTC in this category, equivalent to about 30% of Bitcoin’s total supply.
The concern extends beyond individual Bitcoin holdings. Similar cryptographic protections are used for other critical components of the digital-asset sector, including stablecoin issuance keys, blockchain bridges, oracles and governance contracts. If a privileged key were compromised, the consequences could spread across multiple services or networks.
The threat remains theoretical today: the source material states that no machine currently has the ability to carry out such an attack. However, the alliance points to forecasts that place a possible breakthrough in the late 2020s. One model developed by two alliance contributors identifies March 2028 as an early potential window, while a Google Quantum AI study reduced its estimate of the quantum-computing power needed to break Bitcoin’s cryptography to fewer than 500,000 qubits.
An industry response that is already expanding
The Quantum Alliance is entering an effort that is growing beyond its founding members. Coinbase has recently urged Bitcoin developers to begin the migration toward quantum-resistant systems, arguing that preparation could take years. A separate consortium supported by BlackRock, Strategy and Coinbase has committed $15 million to addressing the issue.
The alliance’s role is intended to be coordination and standard-setting rather than the promotion of a single token or network. By developing shared tests and compatibility guidelines, its members are seeking to make it easier to compare security claims and move assets and infrastructure toward new cryptographic methods without leaving disconnected systems behind.
The issue matters because a cryptographic migration would affect more than the software used to validate ordinary transactions. Wallets, bridges, smart-contract controls and cross-chain systems would also need to be considered. The alliance’s four working groups reflect that broader challenge.
Current market picture
Moneyiar market data at 21:48 on October 17, 2026, showed Bitcoin at $81,174.1667, down 0.50% over 24 hours and 2.22% over seven days. Quant (QNT) stood at $192.6801, down 4.95% over 24 hours and 19.80% over seven days.
Decimal (DEL) was priced at $0.4350, down 3.70% in the past 24 hours but up 11.47% over seven days. OpenLedger (OPEN) was $0.1015, down 1.04% over 24 hours and 10.16% over seven days, based on Moneyiar data recorded at 00:24 on October 15, 2026.
