BlackRock, Strategy Join $15 Million Bitcoin Security Consortium

BlackRock, Strategy and other global financial and crypto firms plan to commit a total of $15 million over the next three years to bolster Bitcoin security.

Nine companies, including BlackRock, Coinbase, ARK Invest, Strategy and Fidelity Digital Assets, announced on July 23 that they are launching the Bitcoin Security Consortium.

The consortium plans to support developers and researchers working to strengthen the Bitcoin network’s long-term security and resilience. Its scope includes research into quantum-resistant technology to prepare for the possibility that quantum computing could one day threaten Bitcoin’s cryptographic system.

Members plan to provide a combined $15 million over the next three years to support developers and researchers. The consortium will not set up a separate pooled fund. Instead, each member will independently decide which projects to back and how much money to commit.

The consortium will not directly develop the Bitcoin protocol or determine its direction. It also does not plan to take positions on specific proposed protocol changes.

Phong Le, Strategy’s chief executive officer, said long-term investors naturally want Bitcoin to remain secure for generations. Supporting the people doing that work is a natural way to contribute, he added.

Robert Mitchnick, BlackRock’s global head of digital assets, said he was pleased that consortium members would provide funding to support Bitcoin’s long-term security needs.