Banks and financial regulators from Europe, the Middle East and Asia have launched a cross-regional pilot testing quantum resistant wallets and digital asset transfers on a specialized NEAR testnet. According to reports from Responsible Fintech Institute, the pilot began on August 24, 2026 with Bison Bank and DK Bank testing quantum resistant wallets and transfers in a shared application environment. Regulators from Abu Dhabi Global Market, Bhutan's Gelephu Financial Services Office and the Malta Financial Services Authority will initially participate as governance observers during the first phase activities. This initiative represents one of the first structured efforts to bring financial supervisors and quantum-safe crypto infrastructure together in the same framework, with the pilot designed to test post-quantum cryptography in settings closer to institutional use, focusing on wallet generation and on-chain transfers. The initiative is convened by the Responsible Fintech Institute with Safeheron as technology partner, designed to move quantum-safe financial infrastructure from concept into practical testing with participating institutions.
The pilot utilizes multiparty computation protocol supporting ML-DSA-65 signatures, which is one of the parameter sets contained in the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology's FIPS 204 standard. As reported by Responsible Fintech Institute, NIST finalized this standard in August 2024, with the agency stating that ML-DSA is believed to remain secure against an adversary possessing a large scale quantum computer. The architecture uses a non-custodial 2-of-2 multi-party computation design where two separate parties each hold a share of the private key, and both must cooperate to sign a transaction. Neither party ever possesses the full key on its own. The ML-DSA-65 algorithm at the core was standardized by NIST as part of its post-quantum cryptography suite, designed to be resistant to Shor's algorithm, the quantum procedure that would break elliptic-curve cryptography on sufficiently powerful quantum computers. Safeheron plans to open-source the underlying post-quantum cryptography code as the work progresses, allowing independent auditing and broader industry adoption. The pilot has been structured to stay close to real institutional operating models, including a tentative non-custodial 2-of-2 MPC participation design intended to minimize operational burden while preserving institutional control over key ownership.
Regulators will observe the technical work during the first phase rather than execute transfers themselves, with their role extending beyond technical oversight to participate in governance discussions. According to Responsible Fintech Institute, a later governance workstream will examine operational resilience, oversight and cross border interoperability. The regulatory bodies' participation is designed to help align whatever emerges with existing regulatory frameworks rather than rubber-stamping outcomes. The research programme is built around a multi-party computation protocol that supports ML-DSA-65, the digital signature standard set out in NIST FIPS 204. Chia Hock Lai, Chairman of Responsible Fintech Institute, described the project as an effort to produce a shared security and compliance reference, emphasizing that no single bank, vendor, or regulator solves this challenge alone. RFI plans to produce a comprehensive whitepaper documenting the pilot's findings, with the underlying PQC protocols eventually being open-sourced to allow independent auditing and broader industry adoption. The proof of concept also envisages publication of a whitepaper covering the research, protocol design and testing findings so that the wider market can assess and build on the results, reinforcing the sector's collective learning and preparedness.
The pilot does not involve the public NEAR mainnet or customer funds, with organizers noting that results from a controlled testnet cannot by themselves establish that the system is ready for live institutional use. As reported by Responsible Fintech Institute, the Bank for International Settlements warned in a July 2025 roadmap that migration to post quantum systems cannot be treated as a simple algorithm replacement, requiring banks to identify where existing cryptography is used and prepare systems that can switch between cryptographic methods. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority wants the sector fully prepared by 2030, with Hong Kong's banking sector currently scoring 2.3 out of 10 for quantum preparedness. Jag Foo, Chief Security and Policy Officer at Safeheron, linked the initiative to wider concerns about technological change, stating that AI is accelerating the pace of change and likely bringing the quantum threat closer to reality. Regulators in Asia have also given the issue greater prominence, with the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Association of Banks in Singapore recently announcing an AI-driven cyber taskforce that explicitly includes quantum threats. The broader objective is to help the market better understand how secure digital asset transaction flows could evolve across regions as financial institutions prepare for a quantum-safe future, in alignment with evolving supervisory expectations on cyber resilience and quantum readiness.
Participating institutions have expressed strong support for the collaborative approach to quantum security preparation. António Henriques, Chief Executive Officer of Bison Bank, stated that "as the financial sector prepares for future cybersecurity challenges, initiatives that encourage collaboration and knowledge-sharing among industry participants are increasingly important." David Peters, Managing Director of the Gelephu Financial Services Office, welcomed the industry's initiative to identify a reliable protocol that safeguards digital asset transactions, emphasizing that ensuring the continuing integrity of these transactions and protecting client funds is critical to the smooth functioning of the investment market. Alan Decelis, Head of Supervisory ICT Risk and Cybersecurity at the Malta Financial Services Authority, noted that preparing for the potential impact of quantum computing on the financial system requires early engagement, collaboration and better understanding of how post-quantum technologies can operate in practice. The pilot has been designed to stay close to institutional operating models, using a shared application environment so testing takes place under consistent conditions. Current participants include regulators such as Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), Gelephu Financial Services Office (GFSO) and Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) alongside participating banks including Bison Bank and DK Bank, with additional institutions in discussion to join. Levels of participation may vary depending on the role and scope agreed by each institution.
