Crypto companies urge AI firms to give Bitcoin developers early access

A group of cryptocurrency companies has urged frontier artificial intelligence (AI) labs to give Bitcoin developers early access to their most capable models.

The letter, published by the Bitcoin Policy Institute (BPI) on Monday, said many digital asset defenders, including Bitcoin Core developers, lack access to lab cyber programs and can be blocked by guardrails on publicly available frontier systems, leaving them to rely on less capable open-weight models.

The signatories urged frontier AI labs to “establish or expand standing trusted-access programs for qualified defenders of open-source financial infrastructure.” 

The letter said open-source software supports critical digital and financial infrastructure, while Bitcoin (BTC) alone secures more than $1 trillion in value. It added that a vulnerability in open-source infrastructure can place life savings at risk.

The open letter was co-signed by multiple crypto companies and organizations, including the African Bitcoin Institute, Anchorage Digital, BitGo, Bitwise, Blockstream, Bull Bitcoin, MARA, Kraken, Ledger and Trezor, among others.

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Open-source defenders need access to frontier AI