More than 30 Bitcoin and crypto companies have signed a letter organized by the Bitcoin Policy Institute. The group includes major industry players such as Coinbase, Block, BitGo, and ARK Invest. They are calling on artificial intelligence developers to provide open-source security researchers with early access to advanced AI models.
The signatories argue that current safety filters on public AI tools hinder legitimate defenders from finding software flaws. Meanwhile, attackers face no such restrictions and can use weaker or unrestricted tools freely. The letter cites recent exploits against BTCPay Server and Lightning nodes, which were partly uncovered by an AI-powered volunteer team, as evidence of the urgent need for better defensive resources.
Key facts
- The Bitcoin Policy Institute organized the letter, which was signed by over three dozen firms including Coinbase, Block, BitGo, and ARK Invest.
- Signatories state that safety guardrails on public AI models block defenders from identifying vulnerabilities while adversaries operate without constraints.
- Recent critical security flaws in BTCPay Server and Lightning nodes were exploited by attackers and partly discovered by an AI-powered volunteer “Bitcoin Red Team.”
- The group requests early access to strong cyber-capable models, compute budgets, and secure testing environments for researchers.
- The letter asks for eligibility provisions for small maintainers and direct communication channels to laboratory security teams.
Why it matters
This initiative highlights a growing tension between AI safety protocols and cybersecurity needs within the crypto ecosystem. If adopted, these changes could help independent researchers and smaller projects detect vulnerabilities faster, potentially protecting billions in digital infrastructure value from sophisticated attacks that currently outpace traditional defense methods.