The global stablecoin market has become a $225 billion cornerstone of modern finance. From real-world asset tokenization to cross-border payments, stablecoins are now deeply embedded into how the financial system operates. In the past few weeks, three headline moves have highlighted how fast this sector is institutionalizing:

• JPMorgan confirmed a pilot of its permissioned USD deposit token JPMD on Coinbase’s Base network, signalling that the world’s largest bank intends to move client deposits on-chain around the clock.
• Plasma, a startup building a Bitcoin side-chain optimised for stablecoin traffic, secured US $1 billion in deposits ahead of its main-net launch. Evidence of deep capital appetite for specialised stablecoin infrastructure.
• Circle, issuer of USDC, priced its IPO at US $31 per share on 5 June 2025 and has already rallied more than 700% as investors bet that regulated stablecoins will dominate digital payments.

These milestones all share one hidden vulnerability. Every token, side-chain and on-chain bank deposit still relies on classical cryptography that quantum computers are expected to break. On 6 June 2025, the White House reinforced the urgency of safeguarding this critical infrastructure when it issued the executive order “Sustaining Select Efforts to Strengthen the Nation’s Cybersecurity” warning that a cryptanalytically relevant quantum computer (CRQC) could break much of today’s public-key cryptography and directing agencies to accelerate the transition to post-quantum standards.

QSSN: A Drop-In Quantum Stablecoin Settlement Network

BTQ Technologies has spent over a decade working with standards bodies building accelerators for post-quantum cryptography resistant to attacks from CRQCs. We are excited to announce the launch of the Quantum Stablecoin Settlement Network (QSSN), a lightweight solution that secures privileged functions of any stablecoin (mint, burn, admin upgrades, contract deployment) with dual signatures. 

All dual-signed messages are generated with BTQ’s CASH hardware module. This quarantines the private treasury keys that otherwise face quantum attacks (i.e. the mint-and-burn keys held by issuers such as Tether, Circle, and JPMorgan). Should an adversary break Circle’s key, for example, they could mint unlimited USDC and collapse its value to zero. In QSSN, all other components—ERC-20 transfers, wallets, KYC hooks, custodial reports—stay exactly the same. Regulators receive a verifiable post-quantum audit trail for every major operation, while users and liquidity venues see no change apart from the removal of quantum risk.

Closing the Stablecoin Security Gap

Today, most stablecoins—including Circle’s USDC, Tether’s USDT, and forthcoming bank-issued tokens like JPMorgan’s USD deposit token (JPMD)—still rely on ECDSA, a legacy scheme never designed to survive quantum-enabled attacks. Recognising this systemic weakness, the U.S. government has mandated a rapid migration to post-quantum cryptography and the NIST has called for traditional public-key algorithms to be deprecated by 2030 and fully replaced soon after, forcing all tokenised financial products to adopt quantum-safe keys.

Source: NIST Internal Report - Transition to Post-Quantum Cryptography Standards

U.S. policy now explicitly requires post-quantum cryptography across new defense and federal systems. In May 2022, the White House issued National Security Memorandum-10, ordering every federal agency to begin the multi-year process of migrating vulnerable computer systems to quantum-resistant cryptography. Six months later, the Office of Management and Budget reinforced that directive with Memo M-23-02, requiring agencies to inventory every cryptographic system, fund PQC upgrades, and treat quantum-safe algorithms as the default in new procurements.

Those policies have evolved into enforceable technical standards. The NSA’s Commercial National Security Algorithm Suite 2.0 (CNSA 2.0) mandates the use of CRYSTALS-Dilithium and CRYSTALS-Kyber across all national security systems, with preferred implementation by 2025 and required adoption by 2030. In parallel, NIST has published final draft standards for key quantum-safe algorithms, including FIPS 204 (ML-KEM/Kyber) and updated digital signature standards, which will set the baseline for new certifications beginning in 2025. The Department of Defense has also included PQC in its Zero-Trust Strategy as a future baseline for secure boot, over-the-air updates, and tactical data transport, with initial deployment targeted before 2027.

This top-down regulatory push applies directly to tokenized money platforms, such as JPMorgan’s forthcoming permissioned USD-deposit token (JPMD). Without quantum-safe protections, JPMD risks facing future key rotation events, elevated operational risk capital charges, and potential regulatory findings.

BTQ’s QSSN provides a solution that is purpose-built for this regulatory environment.

Demonstrating a Quantum-Secure JPMorgan Stablecoin

BTQ has demonstrated how QSSN could be applied to JPMorgan Chase’s proposed USD deposit token (JPMD), ensuring compliance with federal quantum-resilience mandates, while keeping user experience and existing token infrastructure unchanged.

Here’s how it works:

• Dual-Signature Security: Using BTQ’s proprietary CASH hardware, privileged transactions—including minting, burning, and administrative controls—are cryptographically signed with both standard ECDSA and quantum-safe ML-DSA signatures.
• Minimal Platform Changes: The token’s logic, KYC processes, allow-lists, wallets, and reporting infrastructure remain unchanged, preserving compatibility with ERC-20 and ERC-3643 standards.
• Risk-Reduction Focus: Only the bank’s authentication path is upgraded, targeting the specific operations most vulnerable to a quantum-enabled attack, with minimal engineering effort required.

This approach delivers quantum safety without disrupting the token’s regulatory, operational, or user-facing workflows. For institutional holders and market participants, daily interactions remain exactly as they are today.

JPMD Technical Overview

The QSSN framework applies post-quantum protections only to the messages the bank—or its designated operator—sends on-chain, specifically:

• Initial contract deployment
• Mint and burn instructions
• Administrative pauses or upgrades

The rationale is simple: These are the transactions that, if forged after a future quantum break, would allow an attacker to illegitimately create or destroy tokenized deposits. Securing these functions provides the strongest risk reduction for the least technical complexity.

The broader stablecoin ecosystem remains unchanged:

This model allows JPMorgan—and by extension, any regulated stablecoin issuer—to integrate quantum-safe protections today, without rewriting token logic, disrupting allow-lists, or requiring end-users to adopt post-quantum keys.

Stablecoins Are Infrastructure — Infrastructure Demands Resilience

Stablecoins have evolved from speculative tools into core financial infrastructure. They underpin tokenized assets, payments, and digital finance across global markets.

With that evolution comes new regulatory and security expectations. The GENIUS Act, advancing through the U.S. Congress, is poised to formalize federal guidelines for fiat-backed stablecoins, reinforcing the need for secure, compliant, and resilient digital currency infrastructure.

With the introduction of the GENIUS Act and its anticipated approval, digitized money is expected to become a formal pillar of financial markets. But widespread adoption cannot move forward without addressing quantum security.

BTQ, having collaborated with NIST and standards bodies for over a decade, is committed to shaping that future. The company intends to actively propose technical standards and policy recommendations to ensure stablecoins and digital currencies are quantum-secure by design.

A Market-Ready, Scalable Solution

BTQ’s QSSN positions the company as a critical technology enabler for secure, scalable, stablecoin and tokenized asset markets. The framework delivers:

• Quantum-safe security for core stablecoin functions
• Seamless compatibility with existing payment systems, wallets, and compliance processes
• Alignment with global regulatory mandates for financial infrastructure
• Integration with NIST-backed standards like ML-DSA and NSA CNSA 2.0 requirements

Beyond JPMorgan, Tether and Circle, QSSN is designed for broad compatibility with regulated, bank-issued stablecoins like the forthcoming Fire Labs Stablecoin, powering wallets on platforms such as Kraken and Blockchain.com. The same protections extend to real-world asset tokens and next-generation digital payment products.

The financial system is evolving rapidly. Quantum computing is no longer theoretical—it’s a near-term reality. Institutions, governments, and technology providers must work together to secure the foundations of digital finance.

BTQ is ready to lead that transition.

Learn more about BTQ’s Quantum Stablecoin Settlement Network and how we are securing digital finance for the quantum era at qssn.money.