Banks and regulators have joined the testing of post-quantum protection for digital assets.

The crypto industry is taking its first steps toward preparing for the quantum era. Responsible Fintech Institute (RFI) and Safeheron have launched a cross-regional pilot project to test post-quantum cryptography for digital asset transactions. The initiative has attracted attention not only from technology companies but also from official financial institutions.

Scope and Participants of the Pilot

The testing involves regulators from Abu Dhabi Global Market, the Financial Services Authority of Gelephu (Bhutan), and the Malta Financial Services Authority. Banking partners include Bison Bank and DK Bank. In the first phase, government bodies act as observers, but in the next phase they will join governance and oversight matters.

The technological foundation of the program is a 2-of-2 MPC protocol with support for ML-DSA-65, the NIST FIPS 204 digital signature standard. Researchers will test wallet generation and on-chain transfers in the quantum-resistant NEAR testnet. Particular attention is paid to cross-border interoperability, operational resilience, and compliance with regulatory requirements.

Practical Significance

The launch of the pilot is not just a technical experiment. The goal is to prepare critical financial infrastructure in advance for the transition to post-quantum cryptography, before quantum computers become a real threat to existing encryption algorithms. The project aims to demonstrate how such solutions work in the models of regulated financial institutions.

Based on the testing results, the authors plan to publish a white paper describing the research, protocol design, and outcomes. This will be followed by the release of the underlying technology's source code for independent audit and industry use. This is an important step toward creating open standards for quantum protection.

Earlier, the crypto bank Anchorage Digital already presented its own strategy for preparing institutional assets for the post-quantum era, confirming the growing interest in this topic among major players.

My view: this pilot is a timely signal for the entire industry. While the market is focused on current volatility, the transition to post-quantum standards could become the main technological challenge of the coming years. The participation of regulators is a key factor: without their involvement, the adoption of such solutions will take years, not months.