Applied Quantum works with digital asset, crypto and Web3 teams whose entire business is built on cryptography, transparency and composability. We help exchanges, custodians, protocol teams and infrastructure providers understand how quantum reshapes their threat models – and how to move toward quantum safe architectures without breaking their ecosystems.
Sector Overview
Digital‑asset markets, blockchains and Web3 infrastructure are built almost entirely on public‑key cryptography, transparent state and composable protocols. That makes them some of the most exposed ecosystems to quantum‑enabled attacks – and at the same time natural early adopters of quantum‑safe cryptography, randomness and optimisation.
We work with teams across this space to understand how quantum changes their security assumptions, protocols and roadmaps, and where quantum or quantum‑inspired methods might add value on the opportunity side.
Who we work with
We support a range of actors, including:
- Centralised crypto exchanges and brokerages.
- Institutional and retail custody / wallet providers.
- Crypto‑native banks, lenders and stablecoin issuers.
- Layer‑1 and Layer‑2 platforms and rollups.
- DeFi protocols, DAOs and on‑chain liquidity platforms.
- Web3 infrastructure and middleware – oracles, indexers, RPC/node and staking providers.
- Tokenisation, digital‑securities and real‑world‑asset (RWA) platforms.
Where quantum matters
Building with quantum and quantum‑inspired methods
- Quantum‑grade and quantum‑inspired randomness as inputs to randomness beacons, lotteries, VRFs and protocol‑level entropy.
- Quantum and quantum‑inspired optimisation for market‑making, treasury management, risk, collateral and MEV mitigation experiments.
- Designs for future timestamping, proof‑of‑reserves and cross‑chain validation that may leverage quantum hardware or networks.
Defending against the quantum computing threat
- Long‑term exposure of on‑chain public keys and signatures (ECDSA/EdDSA) to Shor‑style attacks and “trust now, forge later” scenarios.
- Impact of quantum on consensus and Sybil‑resistance assumptions, validator and bridge keys, MPC wallets and custody infrastructure.
- PQC migration strategies for protocols, clients, wallets, HSMs and key‑management flows that don’t break backwards compatibility or user experience.
Key challenges we see in digital assets, crypto, web3
- Protocol and ecosystem governance: no single actor can unilaterally “flip the switch” on PQC.
- Huge diversity of clients, wallets, bridges and contracts.
- Tension between decentralisation, performance, UX and quantum‑safety.
- Lack of shared roadmaps and standards for quantum‑safe signatures, addressing and account abstraction.
- Need to coordinate with regulators, auditors and institutional counterparties.
How Applied Quantum helps
- Quantum Security, PQC & Risk – quantum‑risk assessments across protocols, clients, custody and bridges; PQC and crypto‑agility design; quantum‑safe key‑management architectures; threat‑modelling and validation.
- Strategy & Opportunity – protocol‑ and ecosystem‑level quantum strategies, roadmap advisory, market and investor insights for quantum‑aware infrastructure plays.
- Engineering & Implementation – design and evaluation of quantum‑safe signature schemes and addressing patterns; integration of PQC, QRNG and future quantum‑network elements into chains and products.
- Commercialization & TTO Support – support for deep‑tech ventures at the intersection of quantum, cryptography and Web3; partnership and consortium design with exchanges, custodians, protocols and institutions.
If you’re thinking about quantum safe signatures, validator and custody keys, or how quantum risk will play into your protocol or product roadmap, we should talk.
We can help you assess real exposure, design PQC and crypto agility paths, and communicate a credible quantum safety story to your community, regulators and institutional partners.
- Inquire about our services
- Request detailed analyst reports
- Learn about our educational programs
- Discuss partnership opportunities
- Explore our R&D collaboration
- Get support for your quantum security
- Request a demo of our solutions