Financial institutions and watchdogs launch pilot program for quantum-proof cryptocurrency transactions

Financial institutions and watchdogs launch pilot program for quantum-proof cryptocurrency transactions

Financial institutions will evaluate quantum-resistant digital wallets and blockchain-based asset transfers under observation from regulatory authorities in Abu Dhabi, Bhutan and Malta during the program's initial stage.

Financial institutions and regulatory bodies spanning Europe, Asia and the Middle East have entered into a pilot program designed to evaluate quantum-resistant technology for cryptocurrency wallets and blockchain-based transaction processing.

On Monday, the Responsible Fintech Institute (RFI) along with cryptocurrency custody infrastructure provider Safeheron made the announcement regarding this new initiative.

The program leverages a multiparty computation protocol that incorporates ML-DSA-65, which represents a post-quantum digital signature standard released by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology, operating on a quantum-resistant NEAR testnet infrastructure.

According to RFI, the regulatory participants encompass Abu Dhabi Global Market, Bhutan's Gelephu Financial Services Office and Malta's Financial Services Authority, whereas Bison Bank and DK Bank are taking part as the participating financial institutions.

The participating banks will conduct evaluations of wallet generation and transfer operations within a collaborative application environment. Concurrently, regulatory authorities will monitor the initial phase and later provide input to a governance workstream, with varying degrees of involvement across different institutions.

Those organizing the initiative have outlined plans to release a white paper documenting the research findings, protocol architecture and testing results, with the ultimate goal of making the underlying technology available as open-source.

This pilot program emerges at a time when financial regulatory bodies are making preparations for the advent of quantum computers capable of compromising public-key cryptography systems. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has established a target to ensure Hong Kong's banking sector achieves complete readiness for quantum-related security threats by 2030. In a separate development, a 2025 BIS paper called upon financial institutions to initiate coordinated, phased transitions to post-quantum infrastructure.