BTQ Technologies has launched the Bitcoin Quantum testnet, the first quantum-safe fork of Bitcoin, 17 years after Satoshi Nakamoto mined the Bitcoin genesis block in January 2009.
The testnet launch marks a pivotal step toward protecting the nearly $2T BTC value at risk, with 6.26 million BTC (approximately $650-$750 billion) already sitting in addresses with exposed public keys, vulnerable to future quantum attack.
Bitcoin Quantum replaces Bitcoin’s quantum-vulnerable ECDSA signatures with ML-DSA (Module-Lattice Digital Signature Algorithm), the same NIST-standardized post-quantum cryptographic algorithm mandated by the US government for protecting national security systems.
Olivier Roussy Newton, CEO and chairman of BTQ Technologies, said the testnest will help ensure Bitcoin’s security model survives the quantum era.
“While the broader Bitcoin community deliberates on post-quantum approaches, we’re providing a live, open environment where the entire industry can test, validate, and refine quantum-resistant solutions before the threat arrives,” he said.
The Bitcoin Quantum testnet is fully open and permissionless, inviting participation across four key roles — miners, develoopers, researchers, and users.
The testnet infrastructure includes a block explorer at explorer.bitcoinquantum.com and a mining pool at pool.bitcoiunquantum.com, providing immediate accessibility for participants worldwide.
The testnet launch arrives as quantum computing milestones accelerate at an unprecedented pace.
Google’s Willow chip (December 2024) achieved the first demonstration of “below-threshold” quantum error correction, a critical step toward scalable fault-tolerant quantum computers.
Microsoft’s Majorana 1 (February 2025) introduced the first topological qubit processor, potentially accelerating timelines for cryptographically relevant quantum computers.
Industry roadmaps now target one million qubits by 2030, with researchers demonstrating 20x reductions in the physical qubit count required to run cryptanalytically relevant algorithms.
The “Harvest Now, Decrypt Later” threat compounds urgency as adversaries are already collecting blockchain keys to break in the future. A Federal Reserve study warned this is an “active threat,” and Bitcoin’s immutable public ledger means past transactions remain permanently vulnerable once quantum computers arrive.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has publicly stated there is a 20% probability that quantum computers capable of breaking current cryptography could arrive by 2030, recommending network readiness by 2035.
In November 2025, the US Department of Defense issued a memorandum requiring all DoD components to phase out legacy cryptography and migrate to NIST-approved post-quantum algorithms by December 31, 2030.
The memo cited the need for “expedited migration to quantum-resistant cryptography to safeguard the Department’s information systems, communications, and personnel,” and mandated immediate identification and inventory of all cryptographic systems across national security systems, weapons systems, cloud computing, mobile devices, and operational technology.
Major asset managers are now treating quantum computing as a material investment risk, lending urgency to Bitcoin Quantum’s mission.
BlackRock tripled the length of quantum risk disclosure in its iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) prospectus, which holds $64 billion in assets, warning that quantum computing could “compromise the security of the Bitcoin network” and result in “losses to Shareholders.”
VanEck CEO Jan van Eck issued a stark warning in December, saying, “Ultimately, VanEck has been around before Bitcoin. We will walk away from Bitcoin if we think the thesis is fundamentally broken.”
JPMorgan Chase has made substantial quantum investments, including participation in a $300 million funding round for Quantinuum, with executives stating that quantum computing “will change the security landscape of technologies like blockchain and cryptocurrency in the foreseeable future.”
BTQ is building multiple revenue streams around the inevitable migration to quantum-safe infrastructure. BTQ will operate a Bitcoin Quantum mining pool, generating mining revenues to accumulate and hold Bitcoin Quantum tokens as a strategic treasury asset.
BTQ Technologies will retain Bitcoin Quantum tokens as a strategic treasury asset. Through its mining pool (3% fee on all block rewards), the company projects accumulation of approximately 100,000 BTQ tokens in the first 12 months of network operation, exclusive of tokens mined directly by the company. These holdings will be retained on the corporate balance sheet, and the company will evaluate appropriate uses for these holdings as the network matures.
As quantum-resistant transactions become the institutional standard for high-value on-chain assets, BTQ’s infrastructure creates opportunities for security-as-a-service models, premium settlement layers, and quantum certification services.
With tokenized assets projected to exceed $16 trillion by 2030, BTQ is positioned to monetize the cryptographic rails that institutional capital will require.
The company’s full-stack architecture enables value capture across both enterprise and permissionless markets. Centralized offerings such as the Quantum Secure Systems and Networks (QSSN) deliver managed services with the compliance frameworks, service-level agreements, and integration support that regulated institutions require.
Simultaneously, decentralized products like Bitcoin Quantum provide open, permissionless infrastructure for the broader crypto ecosystem. This dual approach enables BTQ to serve institutional clients seeking turnkey solutions while capturing value from organic network growth in public blockchain environments.
Despite the quantified risk, Bitcoin Core has made minimal progress on post-quantum cryptography. According to a May 2025 Chaincode Labs analysis, all Bitcoin post-quantum initiatives “remain at an early and exploratory stage, with much of the preliminary research still occurring informally and privately.”
BIP 360 (Pay to Quantum Resistant Hash), proposed in September 2024, remains in draft status. Bitcoin’s conservative governance culture poses additional challenges. SegWit took approximately 8.5 years from conception to widespread adoption and Taproot took approximately 7.5 years.
Bitcoin Quantum addresses this gap by providing a fully functional, NIST-compliant quantum-safe implementation that the community can evaluate, test, and iterate upon without waiting for Bitcoin Core consensus.
Bitcoin Quantum testnet implements the following technical enhancements — ML-DSA integration, increased block size, full transaction lifecycle, and infrastructure.
