Coinbase Forms Expert Board to Prepare Bitcoin for Quantum Computing Risks

Coinbase has launched an independent advisory board aimed at preparing Bitcoin and the broader blockchain ecosystem for the long-term risks posed by quantum computing, as advances in the field raise questions about the durability of today’s cryptographic standards.

Quantum computers, once developed at scale, could disrupt industries ranging from healthcare and finance to national security, the exchange said in a recent blog post.

For blockchain networks, the implications are particularly serious. Most major chains, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, rely on elliptic-curve cryptography, a system considered secure today but potentially vulnerable to sufficiently powerful quantum machines in the future.

Coinbase Launches Independent Advisory Board to Address Quantum Computing Risks

To address that possibility, Coinbase is forming the Coinbase Independent Advisory Board on Quantum Computing and Blockchain, bringing together leading researchers to assess emerging risks and offer guidance to developers, institutions, and users.

According to Coinbase, the board will operate independently and publish position papers evaluating the state of quantum computing and its implications for blockchain security.

It will also issue practical recommendations on how individuals and organizations can prepare for long-term quantum threats, and provide timely analysis when major breakthroughs in quantum research occur.

The advisory board includes several prominent figures from cryptography, quantum computing, and blockchain research.

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Members include Scott Aaronson, a leading quantum computing researcher and director of the Quantum Information Center at the University of Texas at Austin, Stanford cryptography professor Dan Boneh, Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake, EigenLayer founder Sreeram Kannan, Coinbase head of cryptography Yehuda Lindell, and Dahlia Malkhi, a specialist in secure distributed systems and head of the UCSB Foundations of Fintech Research Lab.

Coinbase says the group’s collective expertise is intended to help the industry move beyond theoretical discussions and toward concrete planning.

While large-scale quantum computers capable of breaking current cryptography do not yet exist, the company argues that preparation must begin years in advance.

Coinbase plans to publish the board’s first position paper early next year, outlining a baseline assessment of quantum-related risks and potential paths toward resilience.

Coinbase Says Tokenization Can Open Global Capital Markets to Billions Left Out

As reported, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has outlined a plan to expand access to global capital markets through blockchain-based tokenization, arguing that billions of adults remain locked out of equity and bond investing.

In a new policy paper, Coinbase says structural barriers have excluded nearly two-thirds of the world’s adult population from wealth creation as returns on capital continue to outpace wages.

The paper highlights sharp geographic and economic divides in market participation. While more than half of adults in the US invest in equities or bonds, participation falls below 10% in countries such as China and India.

Armstrong argues that access is largely determined by where someone is born, not their talent, pointing to extreme home bias that keeps investors concentrated in local markets despite limited exposure to global growth.