A group of banks and financial regulators from multiple jurisdictions has launched a pilot program to test post-quantum cryptography for securing digital asset transactions.

The initiative, convened by the Responsible Fintech Institute (RFI) with digital asset custody firm Safeheron as technology partner, aims to move quantum-safe financial infrastructure from concept to practical testing.

Participating regulators include Abu Dhabi Global Market, the Gelephu Financial Services Office in Bhutan and the Malta Financial Services Authority, alongside banks Bison Bank and DK Bank. Additional institutions are in discussions to join, organizers said.

Post-quantum cryptography refers to encryption methods designed to withstand attacks from future quantum computers, which are expected to eventually be capable of breaking the public-key cryptography that currently secures much of the global financial system.

The program centers on a multi-party computation protocol supporting ML-DSA-65, a digital signature standard set by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) under its FIPS 204 framework, the statement said.

Multi-party computation, or MPC, is a cryptographic technique that splits control of a digital signature among several parties so no single party holds the complete key.

Participants will test wallet generation and on-chain transfers on the quantum-resistant NEAR testnet, according to the statement. The pilot also incorporates a tentative non-custodial 2-of-2 MPC design intended to preserve institutional control over key ownership while limiting operational burden.

Regulators will act as observers during the pilot’s first phase before contributing to a governance workstream in a later stage, the statement said. Organizers said they plan to publish a whitepaper detailing the research, protocol design and testing results, and intend to eventually open-source the underlying protocol technology.

Quantum computing is widely expected to eventually undermine the public-key cryptography that secures much of today’s financial system, prompting regulators and industry groups to begin planning for a transition to quantum-resistant standards.

A 2025 paper published by the Bank for International Settlements said the shift to quantum-safe infrastructure would require coordinated planning and cryptographic agility across the financial sector, rather than a straightforward swap of algorithms.

Regulators in Asia have already begun incorporating quantum risk into supervisory planning. In July, the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Association of Banks in Singapore established a joint taskforce to strengthen cyber and technology resilience against risks from advanced artificial intelligence models.

Separately, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority has added quantum readiness to its Fintech 2030 strategy, launching a Quantum Preparedness Index to benchmark banks’ progress and targeting full sector-wide quantum readiness by 2030.

“No single bank, vendor, or regulator solves this alone,” Chia Hock Lai, chairman of the Responsible Fintech Institute, said in the statement. He said the goal was to build “a compliance and security reference the whole industry can stand on.”

Jag Foo, chief security and policy officer at Safeheron, said the pace of change driven by artificial intelligence was likely bringing the quantum threat closer to reality.

Safeheron intends to open-source its post-quantum cryptography code once it is developed, he said, adding that “cryptography securing institutional assets should stand up to independent scrutiny, not ask for trust.”

António Henriques, chief executive of Bison Bank, said initiatives that encourage collaboration among industry participants were increasingly important as the financial sector prepares for future cybersecurity challenges.

David Peters, managing director of the Gelephu Financial Services Office, said the pilot would help identify a reliable protocol to safeguard digital asset transactions and protect client funds.

Alan Decelis, head of supervisory ICT risk and cybersecurity at the Malta Financial Services Authority, said preparing for the potential impact of quantum computing on the financial system required early engagement and collaboration.

He said the pilot offered regulators an opportunity to contribute a supervisory perspective while developing their understanding of the operational and governance issues involved in a transition to quantum-safe finance.

Safeheron is leading protocol and engineering work for the pilot, while the Responsible Fintech Institute is coordinating governance and stakeholder participation across jurisdictions, the statement said.

Levels of participation among banks may vary depending on the role and scope each institution agrees to, organizers said.

The Responsible Fintech Institute describes itself as an independent nonprofit organization focused on standards and governance linking traditional and decentralized finance.

Safeheron is a digital asset custody and infrastructure provider specializing in multi-party computation and trusted execution environment technology.