The crypto industry has united against the AI monopoly: an open letter demands access to advanced models.
For the first time, the cryptocurrency industry has come out so broadly and cohesively against the closed nature of the largest artificial intelligence laboratories. The Bitcoin Policy Institute, together with dozens of key market players, published an open letter demanding that trusted open-source developers be granted reliable access to the most advanced AI models. This is not about commercial privileges, but about the fundamental security of the financial infrastructure that underpins trillions of dollars.
Defenders of infrastructure are left without the strongest tools
The situation that has developed over the past few weeks has exposed a critical imbalance. Security specialists in digital assets and open-source software, who daily counter increasingly sophisticated attacks, are effectively deprived of access to the most powerful AI tools. While attackers are actively arming themselves with cutting-edge technology, defenders are forced to rely on outdated and less effective solutions. This threatens not only individual projects, but the entire ecosystem, where the Bitcoin network alone safeguards assets worth more than a trillion dollars, and the combined value of digital wallets, exchanges, and payment systems is measured in trillions.
Open source has long become financial infrastructure developed by companies, non-profit organizations, and independent researchers living on grants. Behind this software stand the personal savings of millions of people — retirement funds, capital, and reserve funds. A single vulnerability can destroy a lifetime of wealth, making digital assets a prime target for cyberattacks.
Defenders occupy the least privileged position
Advanced AI models are capable of analyzing vast amounts of code, finding weaknesses, and accelerating complex technical work. However, defenders' access to them remains limited and inconsistent. Many developers, including Bitcoin Core maintainers, are completely deprived of the ability to use laboratory tools. Public versions of systems often block legitimate security work, forcing critical checks to be conducted on less powerful open-weight models. In my estimation, this places developers in the most vulnerable position in the entire security ecosystem around AI.
Open-source maintainers report continuous AI-driven attacks that small teams are practically unable to repel on their own. Even with successful defense, constant activity diverts resources from development and routine security work. Bitcoin developers and researchers are forced to check wallets, libraries, and protocols around the clock using available open-weight models, which is clearly insufficient to counter modern threats.
What the coalition is asking of the laboratories
The coalition insists on the creation or expansion of permanent trusted access programs for qualified defenders of open financial infrastructure. This should include early, controlled access to the strongest cyber models, as well as to pre-release versions. "Sufficient" computing power and the ability to run autonomous agents for long-running tasks are critically important — without this, full security audits are simply impossible.
Separately, the need for secure environments for analyzing private or closed-source code is emphasized, as well as granting equal participation rights to small, non-profit, and independent maintainers on par with large corporations and states. A key requirement is the creation of a direct channel for coordinated vulnerability reporting, remediation, and communication with laboratory security teams.
The letter was signed by representatives of the Bitcoin Policy Institute, Coinbase, Block, Blockstream, BitGo, Anchorage Digital, Bitwise, Trezor, MARA, Foundry, Galaxy, Strategy, Strike, River, and dozens of other participants from the digital asset and cybersecurity sectors.
My comment: This letter is not just a request, but a signal of a systemic crisis of trust. While AI laboratories view access as a competitive advantage, they are unintentionally strengthening attackers. If the industry does not find a way to legalize and standardize access for defenders, we risk an arms race in which defense has no chance at all. This is about the survival of the entire digital economy.