US Treasury launches quantum task force with digital-assets workstream

The US Treasury launched its Quantum-Readiness Task Force on Aug. 24 with a workstream focused on digital assets and emerging-technology risks. The task force has two other workstreams. One covers post-quantum cryptography adoption. The other covers third-party vendor readiness. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the task force would help secure technologies that support the economy. He said it would also help keep the financial system strong, secure and competitive as new technologies reshape the global landscape. The public-private group will include government agencies, financial institutions, market infrastructure operators and technology providers. The group will identify critical cryptographic dependencies. It will improve interoperability. It will prepare for implementation challenges linked to stronger quantum computers. Crypto companies could examine cryptography in custody systems. They could also examine transaction signing, authentication and third-party infrastructure. Treasury did not impose a migration deadline on Bitcoin, Ethereum or private digital-asset companies. Individual networks would need separate engineering and governance decisions to change their signature systems. President Donald Trump's June executive order accelerated the federal government's transition to post-quantum security. The order sets a Dec. 31, 2030, deadline for post-quantum key establishment on specified high-value and high-impact federal systems. It sets a Dec. 31, 2031, deadline for post-quantum digital signatures on those systems. The deadlines do not apply to private blockchains. Coinbase's independent quantum advisory council urged blockchain developers in June to begin technical and governance planning. The council estimated that about 7 million Bitcoin could be vulnerable because older address formats or address reuse expose their public keys. BlackRock, Coinbase, Strategy and six other institutions later formed the Bitcoin Security Consortium. The members pledged a combined $15 million over three years for Bitcoin security research. Post-quantum cryptography was among the consortium's initial priorities. Members will direct their funding independently instead of through a pooled fund. Any binding migration timetable for crypto firms would require rules or other authorities that specifically apply to them.