The Bitcoin Policy Institute has published an open letter asking frontier AI labs to create or expand trusted-access programs for open-source financial infrastructure defenders.

The letter, titled "Defenders Need the Frontier," argues that Bitcoin and broader digital asset systems now secure trillions of dollars across wallets, signing devices, cryptographic libraries, node software, exchanges, custody systems, and payment networks. It says advanced AI models are changing both defensive research and offensive cyber operations by making it easier to scan large codebases and accelerate complex technical work.

The request is specific. The signatories ask labs to provide early, controlled access to the strongest cyber-capable models, including pre-release access where appropriate; enough compute and long-horizon agent use for meaningful reviews; secure environments for private or embargoed code; eligibility for independent maintainers and nonprofits as well as large institutions; and direct channels to lab security teams.

A signatory endpoint for the letter listed 77 organizations when checked, including Bitcoin Policy Institute, BitGo, Block, Brink, Chaincode Labs, Coinbase, Kraken, Ledger, Lightning Labs, OpenSats, Spiral, Trezor, and Xapo Bank.

The framing is not that AI has created a single new Bitcoin vulnerability. It is that defenders of open-source financial infrastructure may be working with weaker tools than attackers, particularly when public model guardrails block legitimate security testing. The practical question for AI labs is whether cyber-safety programs can include qualified outside maintainers before equivalent capabilities spread more broadly.