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 initiative was announced on Monday by the Responsible Fintech Institute (RFI) and crypto custody infrastructure provider Safeheron.
The pilot utilizes a multiparty computation protocol supporting ML-DSA-65, which is a post-quantum digital signature standard published by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology, operating on a quantum-resistant NEAR testnet.
According to RFI, participating regulators include the Abu Dhabi Global Market, Bhutan’s Gelephu Financial Services Office, and Malta’s Financial Services Authority. Bison Bank and DK Bank are participating as the financial institutions.
The banks will test wallet generation and transfers within a shared application environment. Regulators will observe the first phase of the pilot and contribute to a governance workstream at a later stage, with participation levels varying between institutions.
Organizers plan to publish a white paper detailing the research, protocol design, and test findings, and eventually open-source the underlying technology.
The pilot is part of broader financial preparations for quantum computers that could potentially undermine public-key cryptography. For example, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority aims to have its banking sector fully prepared for quantum-related security risks by 2030, while a 2025 Bank for International Settlements (BIS) paper urged financial institutions to start coordinated, phased migrations to post-quantum systems.
