Banks and financial regulators across Europe, the Middle East and Asia have joined a pilot testing quantum-resistant infrastructure for digital asset wallets and onchain transfers.
The Responsible Fintech Institute and crypto custody infrastructure provider Safeheron announced the initiative on Monday. Participating banks will test post-quantum wallet generation and transfers, while regulators initially observe the work.
The pilot uses a multiparty computation protocol that supports ML-DSA-65, a post-quantum digital signature standard published by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology. Testing will take place on a quantum-resistant NEAR testnet.
Participating regulators include Abu Dhabi Global Market, Bhutan's Gelephu Financial Services Office and the Malta Financial Services Authority. Bison Bank and DK Bank are taking part as financial institutions.
The banks will test wallet generation and transfers in a shared application environment. Regulators will observe the first phase and later contribute to a governance workstream, although participation levels will differ between institutions.
The organizers plan to publish a white paper covering the research, protocol design and test results. They also intend to make the underlying technology open source at a later stage.
The pilot comes as financial authorities prepare for quantum computers that could weaken current public-key cryptography and expose digital asset infrastructure to new security risks.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority aims to make Hong Kong's banking sector fully prepared for quantum-related security threats by 2030. A 2025 Bank for International Settlements paper separately urged financial institutions to begin coordinated and phased migrations to post-quantum systems.