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The Bitcoin Policy Institute, together with dozens of companies in the digital assets, cybersecurity, and open-source development sectors, has sent an ultimatum to the world's largest AI labs. The coalition demands that verified developers be granted reliable access to cutting-edge artificial intelligence models to protect financial infrastructure. Trillions of dollars are at stake.

In an open letter signed by representatives of Coinbase, Block, Blockstream, BitGo, Anchorage Digital, Bitwise, Trezor, MARA, Foundry, Galaxy, Strategy, Strike, and River, as well as dozens of other participants, it is emphasized that the need for such access has become evident over the past few weeks. Defenders of digital asset infrastructure and open-source software are left without the strongest tools in the arms race against cybercriminals.

Trillions at Risk: Why Open Source Needs AI

Open source has long become financial infrastructure. The Bitcoin network alone safeguards more than a trillion dollars, and across the entire ecosystem—from wallets and cryptographic libraries to node software, custody systems, exchanges, and payment networks—we are talking about trillions of dollars. This infrastructure is openly developed by companies, non-profit organizations, independent researchers, and maintainers living on grants.

"Behind this software are the personal funds of millions of people. These are retirement savings, business capital, reserve funds, and family wealth, so a single vulnerability can wipe out a lifetime of savings. Digital assets attract cyberattacks precisely for this reason," the letter's authors note.

Many cryptocurrencies are structured in such a way that the path from a hack to lost funds is short. Under such conditions, it is especially important to identify and close vulnerabilities in advance, the authors emphasize. Cutting-edge AI is meanwhile changing the economics for both security researchers and attackers.

Defenders Occupy the Least Privileged Position

Advanced models are capable of scanning large codebases, identifying potential weaknesses, and accelerating complex technical work—for both defenders and attackers alike. The authors expect these capabilities to continue spreading through public open-source models, unauthorized access to corporate systems, and specialized cyberattack tools.

Today, advanced labs and select partners see new cyber capabilities months before they reach the rest of the ecosystem. At the same time, access pathways to such tools for qualified defenders remain limited and inconsistent. Many digital asset developers, including Bitcoin Core maintainers, are excluded from lab programs.

Restrictions on public advanced systems often block legitimate security work. As a result, defenders are forced to conduct critical reviews on less powerful open-weight models. According to the letter's authors, developers occupy the most vulnerable position in the entire security framework surrounding AI.

The Bitcoin Policy Institute has received several independent reports from open-source maintainers. According to them, sophisticated attackers, possibly from other countries, are conducting continuous AI-assisted attacks, and small teams struggle to keep up with such a pace.

What the Coalition Demands from Labs

The coalition asks advanced AI labs to create or expand permanent trusted access programs for qualified defenders of open financial infrastructure. Such programs should provide early, controlled access to the strongest cyber models and, where appropriate, pre-release versions. Among the conditions, the authors also cite "sufficient" computing power and the operation of autonomous agents on long-running tasks—without which meaningful security reviews cannot be conducted.

Separately, the coalition requests secure environments for analyzing private or closed-source code, as well as the right for small, non-profit, and independent maintainers to participate on equal footing with large companies and governments. The final item on the list is a direct channel for coordinated vulnerability reporting, remediation, and communication with lab security teams.

"The digital asset industry is ready to help identify trusted participants, establish standards, and coordinate remediation when issues are discovered. Cutting-edge AI could become one of the most powerful defensive technologies in history, but only with fair access to such systems," the authors conclude.

My analysis: This move is not merely a request but a signal of systemic imbalance. While AI labs monetize their models through partnerships with governments and corporations, it is the open source underpinning the entire crypto economy that remains unprotected. If labs ignore the letter, we risk seeing a wave of hacks that will undermine trust in digital assets as a whole. The question of AI access is becoming a question of survival for the entire industry.