The Responsible Fintech Institute and Safeheron have launched a cross-regional pilot to test post-quantum cryptography for digital asset transactions, bringing financial institutions and regulatory stakeholders into a practical trial of quantum-resistant infrastructure.
According to the initiative’s announcement, the research program will combine multi-party computation technology with an MPC protocol supporting ML-DSA-65, one of the post-quantum digital signature parameter sets standardized under NIST FIPS 204. Participants will test wallet creation and on-chain transfers on the quantum-resistant NEAR testnet.
The project is intended to examine not only whether the technology works in practice, but also how quantum-safe systems could operate across jurisdictions while meeting institutional requirements for resilience, interoperability and governance.
Banks and regulators test a shared architecture
RFI Chairman Chia Hock Lai said preparing financial infrastructure for quantum-era threats would require cooperation between banks, technology providers and regulators rather than isolated efforts.
Regulators will initially participate as observers before contributing to a governance workstream in a later phase, while participating institutions test quantum-resistant MPC signing under common conditions.
Bison Bank, the Gelephu Financial Services Office and the Malta Financial Services Authority are among the organisations supporting the initiative, with participants highlighting the need to understand operational and supervisory challenges before quantum-safe systems are deployed more broadly.
Safeheron Chief Security & Policy Officer Jag Foo said the company plans to open-source the underlying PQC code, allowing independent researchers and institutions to scrutinise the cryptography and contribute to its development.
Quantum readiness moves from policy to testing
The pilot comes as financial regulators increasingly prepare for the possibility that advanced quantum computers could eventually compromise widely used public-key cryptography.
A 2025 Bank for International Settlements paper called for coordinated migration planning and greater cryptographic agility, while authorities in Asia have begun incorporating quantum preparedness into broader cybersecurity strategies.
That shift is already taking shape in parts of Asia, with Hong Kong’s Fintech 2030 program planning a Quantum Preparedness Index to benchmark banks’ transition toward post-quantum cryptography, while Singapore has stepped up industry coordination around emerging technology and cybersecurity risks.
The consortium also plans to publish a whitepaper detailing its research, protocol design and testing findings, creating a reference that other institutions can assess as the financial sector moves toward quantum-resistant infrastructure.
