Svmuu News: Digital asset firm Galaxy Digital has launched the “Bitcoin” program, which will provide up to $5 million in developer grants, conduct research initiatives through Galaxy Research, and establish a Quantum Advisory Board composed of academic experts.
Galaxy Digital stated that the program will fund work related to post-quantum cryptography solutions and is expected to begin accepting grant applications immediately. The inaugural members of the Quantum Advisory Board include Barry Sanders, a professor at the University of Calgary; Damien Bérubé, an MIT Sea Grant Knauss Fellow; and Eran Tromer, a professor of computer science at Boston University.
Reportedly, the initiative is aimed at addressing what researchers refer to as “Q-Day”—the day when a quantum computer might use Shor’s algorithm to break the elliptic curve cryptography protecting Bitcoin, thereby deriving private keys from exposed public keys, forging signatures, and extracting wallet assets. Older addresses and reused addresses face a higher risk. A May report by the quantum security firm Project Eleven 5 suggests that a quantum computer capable of cryptographic operations is more likely to emerge by 2033—and possibly as early as 2030—and estimates that approximately 6.9 million Bitcoin are held in quantum-vulnerable addresses.In June, Coinbase’s Quantum Advisory Board urged developers to begin the migration process and estimated that approximately 7 million BTC are at risk. (Decrypt)