MARA Holdings Launches MARA Foundation At Bitcoin Conference Las Vegas To Fund Quantum Risk Research

MARA Holdings announced the launch of the MARA Foundation during the Bitcoin Conference in Las Vegas on Monday, with CEO Fred Thiel framing the effort around long-term stewardship for Bitcoin’s network resilience.

“MARA Holdings targets bitcoin quantum threat and network resilience with new foundation Bitcoin's future is not guaranteed, said CEO Fred Thiel at the Bitcoin Conference in Las Vegas”

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Thiel said, “Bitcoin is the most important decentralized system ever created, but its future is not guaranteed,” and he described decentralization as requiring distributed responsibility rather than self-running governance.

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In the CoinDesk account, the foundation will fund open source development, education, and research, including work on Bitcoin’s fee market and “emerging threats like quantum computing.”

CoinDesk also reported that MARA would commit $100,000 to nonprofits, with the recipient selected through a community vote at the Bitcoin Conference Las Vegas.

CoinCentral similarly described the foundation as a nonprofit focused on supporting Bitcoin’s long-term network health, resilience, and adoption, and it said the initiative was announced by Fred Thiel during the conference.

The Blockonomi and Block accounts both tied the foundation’s mandate to addressing quantum risks and reinforcing Bitcoin’s economic model, while emphasizing that the network depends on active stewardship.

Across the coverage, the foundation’s stated priorities include preserving Bitcoin’s core properties as “sound, durable money,” funding research into emerging risks, and expanding education and policy engagement alongside technical work.

A central focus of the MARA Foundation is research into quantum-resistant Bitcoin tools, with multiple outlets describing the initiative as preparing for cryptographic risks that could emerge as quantum computing advances.

CoinDesk said the foundation’s priorities include funding research into emerging risks, “such as quantum computing,” and it linked that work to maintaining Bitcoin’s core properties as “sound, durable money.”

Blockonomi

CoinCentral went further by stating that one of the foundation’s stated priorities is research into “quantum-resistant Bitcoin tools,” and it added that the foundation plans to support work on post-quantum wallets and related proposals, including BIP 360.

CoinCentral also identified Isabel Foxen Duke, calling her “a market strategist at MARA,” and it said she co-authored the BIP 360-focused proposal.

The Block described the foundation’s stance as “opinionated” on Bitcoin’s resilience to quantum computing and quoted the foundation’s own framing: “Quantum computing is not an immediate threat to Bitcoin. But because the network evolves deliberately and upgrades take time, early preparation matters,” which it said appears on the foundation’s website.

The Blockonomi and MEXC coverage both described quantum computing as a potential threat and said the foundation will support studies and technical measures, with MEXC stating the initiative will study threats from quantum computing and “support studies on this risk.”

While the outlets vary in how they characterize the immediacy of the threat, they converge on the foundation’s plan to fund research and development aimed at quantum-resistant approaches, including PQ wallets and BIP 360.

Alongside quantum research, the MARA Foundation is also positioned to address Bitcoin’s long-term economic security model by focusing on the “security budget” and the development of a sustainable transaction-fee market.

“Summary - MARA Holdings said it has established the MARA Foundation to support open-source development, education and research in an effort to strengthen Bitcoin’s long-term network stability”

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CoinDesk said the foundation’s key priorities include supporting the network’s security budget, “particularly the development of a sustainable transaction-fee market,” and it described the foundation’s broader effort as supporting long-term resilience beyond MARA’s bitcoin and AI mining operations.

CoinCentral similarly said the foundation will direct funding toward areas that affect the durability of the Bitcoin network, including “miner incentives, transaction fees, and future technical risks.”

The Blockonomi stated that Thiel said transaction fees must eventually replace declining block rewards, and it said the foundation will encourage the development of a sustainable fee market while examining technical measures that strengthen network defense.

The Block provided a more detailed explanation of the “security budget,” describing it as “the combined value of block subsidies and transaction fees paid to miners,” and it said the foundation aims to support the development of “a robust and healthy fee market for Bitcoin transactions.”

In that same account, The Block tied the fee-market focus to the programmed halving cycle, stating that the mining subsidy continues to shrink programmatically by half every four years and will eventually stop altogether, leaving miners reliant on transaction fees as a source of revenue.

Across the coverage, the fee-market and security-budget emphasis is presented as a long-horizon effort to keep Bitcoin’s incentives aligned as block rewards decline.

The MARA Foundation’s mandate extends beyond technical research into education, self-custody access, and policy engagement, with multiple outlets describing multilingual resources and outreach to regulators.

CoinDesk said education and policy engagement are central to the initiative, including “technical training, multilingual resources, and outreach to regulators,” and it described the foundation as promoting financial sovereignty worldwide.

CoinCentral

CoinCentral said the foundation will support multilingual educational programs designed to expand public understanding of Bitcoin, and it described efforts that are expected to include technical training, resources for users, and outreach aimed at improving access to self-custodial tools.

Blockonomi similarly said the foundation will promote self-custody solutions across different regions, expand multilingual resources for global users, and provide technical education programs for developers and operators, while also including policy engagement through structured outreach to regulators.

The Block described the foundation’s approach as including “education, advocacy, and open-source R&D,” and it said the foundation is focused on global, multi-lingual education initiatives and expanding access to self-custodial tools.

CoinDesk also said the foundation will fund open source development across scaling, mining, and user infrastructure, and it described plans to expand access to self-custody and promote financial sovereignty worldwide.

In the CoinCentral account, the foundation’s work is described as operating outside MARA’s responsibilities as miners alone, with the organization’s mandate centered on preserving Bitcoin’s core properties as open, decentralized, and globally accessible money.

The launch also included a specific funding mechanism described across outlets: MARA will commit $100,000 to one nonprofit organization, with the recipient chosen through a community vote at the Bitcoin Conference.

“Buy CryptoMarketsSpotFuturesGOLDEarnEvent Centre More BitcoinWorld MARA Holdings Launches Mara Foundation to Fortify Bitcoin Network Resilience Against Quantum Threats MARA Holdings, formerly Marathon Digital, hasBitcoinWorld MARA Holdings Launches Mara Foundation to Fortify Bitcoin Network Resilience Against Quantum Threats MARA Holdings, formerly Marathon Digital, has MARA Holdings Launches Mara Foundation to Fortify Bitcoin Network Resilience Against Quantum Threats Author: bitcoinworld 2026/04/28 02:45 5 min read Share For feedback or concerns regarding this content, please contact us at BitcoinWorld MARA Holdings Launches Mara Foundation to Fortify Bitcoin Network Resilience Against Quantum Threats MARA Holdings, formerly Marathon Digital, has launched the Mara Foundation”

MEXC

CoinDesk said the recipient would be selected through a community vote at the Bitcoin Conference Las Vegas, and it described the award as part of the foundation’s launch.

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CoinCentral similarly said, “As part of thefoundation’s launch, MARA will commit $100,000 to one of three nonprofit organizations,” and it described the recipient selection through a community vote.

Blockonomi echoed that “As part of the launch, MARA pledged $100,000 to one nonprofit organization,” and it said “Three groups will compete for the award through a community vote.”

Beyond the donation mechanics, the outlets diverged in how they framed the foundation’s stance and the broader context of crypto mining and advocacy.

The Block described the foundation as taking an “opinionated stance” on quantum resilience that “not all Bitcoin advocates consider a legitimate threat,” while it also quoted the foundation’s website language about early preparation.

MEXC, by contrast, emphasized that the company announced the foundation on March 12, 2025, and it presented the initiative as “to strengthen Bitcoin network resilience through open-source development, education, and research,” while also stating that CEO Fred Thiel emphasized active stewardship.