Coinbase Forms Quantum Risk Advisory Board

Today in Crypto: Coinbase has created an independent advisory board to study quantum computing risks to blockchain networks. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire pushed back against claims that stablecoin yields could trigger bank runs, while a key US crypto bill could face delays as the Senate prioritizes affordability measures.

Coinbase forms board to assess quantum computing risks to blockchain

Coinbase has formed an independent advisory board to assess how advances in quantum computing could affect the cryptography used by major blockchain networks, including Bitcoin and Ethereum.

In a Wednesday blog post, Coinbase introduced the advisory board formed by experts in quantum computing, cryptography, distributed systems and blockchain security from academia and industry, including senior researchers from major universities, the Ethereum ecosystem and Coinbase.

The board will publish public papers assessing the state of quantum computing and its implications for blockchain systems, issue guidance for developers, organizations and users and respond to major advances in quantum technology with independent analysis.

Coinbase said the board will operate independently of the company’s management and is intended to provide industry-facing research rather than serve as an internal review body. The board is expected to publish its first position paper in early 2027, outlining a baseline assessment of quantum-related risks.

The company said the initiative will run alongside internal efforts to update Bitcoin address handling and key-management systems, as well as longer-term research into post-quantum cryptographic standards.

“Totally absurd”: Circle CEO rejects bank-run fears over stablecoin yields

Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire dismissed concerns that interest payments on stablecoins pose a threat to banks.

Speaking Thursday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Allaire described concerns that stablecoin yields could cause bank runs as “totally absurd,” citing historical precedents and existing reward-based financial services already in use.

“They help with stickiness, they help with customer traction,” Allaire said, adding that interest itself is not large enough to undermine monetary policy.

Allaire’s comments came amid heated debate over stablecoin yields, including in discussions over the US CLARITY Act, which aims to establish a federal market structure framework for digital assets.

Allaire pointed to government money market funds as a historical parallel, noting they faced similar warnings about draining bank deposits.

Yet it has been “around $11 trillion of dollar money market funds that grew in various different circumstances,” Allaire said, adding that this has not stopped lending.

“Meanwhile, lending is already shifting away from banks toward private credit and capital markets. In the US, much of GDP growth over multiple cycles has been funded through capital-market debt, not bank loans,” he said. “We want to build models for lending that build on top of stablecoins.”

Crypto bill may be delayed as Senate shifts to affordability: Report

Crypto market structure legislation could be delayed by weeks as the Senate Banking Committee is shifting focus to President Donald Trump’s affordability agenda, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.

The committee is likely to switch focus to implementing Trump’s executive order barring Wall Street investors from buying single-family homes and delay advancing the crypto bill until late February or March.

It could be the Senate’s latest delay of the bill that aims to define how regulators will police crypto after the Banking and Agriculture Committees postponed markups for the legislation to garner bipartisan support.

Senate Agriculture Committee Republicans released their draft of the bill on Wednesday ahead of a markup of the bill scheduled for Tuesday next week, but it doesn’t have the support of the panel’s Democrats.

Republicans are pushing to get policy wins to take into the midterm elections in November, as polling and Polymarket odds show Democrats ahead with a chance of winning a majority in the House, which could derail Trump’s agenda.