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Coinbase designs post-quantum Bitcoin custody to handle unknown signing changes

Coinbase is building protections around multi-party computation, which splits key shares so transactions can be authorized without ever assembling a complete private key in one place.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Market Structure

Coinbase is working on post-quantum safeguards for Bitcoin custody that are intended to remain usable regardless of which post-quantum signature approach Bitcoin ultimately adopts, the exchange’s head of cryptography said.

Yehuda Lindell told MARA Foundation TV host Isabel Foxen Duke that it is unlikely a single signing scheme will be used across networks, so the custody design is being built to support different technical outcomes on different blockchains.

The exchange said the effort is motivated by the need to protect institutional assets, described as roughly $250 billion, as cryptographic risks evolve. Lindell highlighted multi-party computation, or MPC, which keeps private keys split across parties so signers can complete transactions without making whole keys vulnerable on a single device.

Coinbase also pointed to concerns that some post-quantum signature types may not be compatible with MPC, noting that hash-based signatures could be secure against quantum threats but may be harder to integrate with MPC-based infrastructure due to differences in underlying mathematical structure.

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