Bitcoin Companies Want Help From AI Labs to Guard Against Hackers
More than 40 bitcoin and crypto firms asked major AI labs to give trusted independent researchers early access to frontier models before public release. The argument is that open-source crypto infrastructure secures enormous value, but developers defending it are blocked by current model guardrails and often rely on weaker open-weight tools. Early access and compute budgets could help them find and fix vulnerabilities before attackers exploit them. The request also notes that AI labs and selected partners already get advance visibility into new capabilities, while those same capabilities often later leak into the public. The appeal comes alongside a separate $15 million Bitcoin Security Consortium pledge for network security, but focuses specifically on access to better AI tools for today’s maintainers. Labs have not publicly responded to this request, though they are developing safeguards against malicious use.
