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BTQ Technologies’ QSSN Selected as Core Security Infrastructure for South Korea’s First Bank-Led KRW Stablecoin Proof-of-Concept

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BTQ provides strategic advisory support and QSSN as core PQC security infrastructure for the iM Bank initiative on the Kaia mainnet, advancing post-quantum migration across global financial infrastructure

BTQ has been selected as the core post-quantum cryptography security technology provider for South Korea’s first bank-led KRW stablecoin proof-of-concept, delivering its Quantum Secure Stablecoin Settlement Network (“QSSN”) for the initiative.
 BTQ is providing strategic advisory support and helping coordinate implementation across the partnership with iM Bank and Finger, supporting the integration of post-quantum protections into regulated digital money infrastructure.
 Built on the Kaia mainnet, the proof-of-concept is connected to the blockchain ecosystems originally developed by Kakao and LINE, linking the initiative to two of the largest messaging and digital platform ecosystems in Korea and Japan.

VANCOUVER, BC, May 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ – BTQ Technologies Corp. (“BTQ” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: BTQ) (CBOE CA: BTQ), a global quantum technology company focused on securing mission-critical networks, today announced that it it has been selected as the core PQC security technology provider through its Quantum Secure Stablecoin Settlement Network (“QSSN”) in a proof-of-concept with its Korean strategic partner, Finger Inc. (“Finger”), and iM Bank, a leading Korean commercial bank, for South Korea’s first bank-led Korean won stablecoin infrastructure incorporating post-quantum cryptography (“PQC”).

The proof-of-concept represents more than a technical pilot. It marks an important step in bringing next-generation quantum security into banking infrastructure within Korea’s regulated financial system. In addition to providing QSSN as the core PQC security framework, BTQ is contributing consulting and strategic coordination across the three-way partnership, helping align the project’s security architecture, implementation approach, and long-term post-quantum migration objectives.

“Post-quantum migration requires more than a cryptographic upgrade. It requires coordination across infrastructure, implementation, and institutional stakeholders,” said Olivier Roussy Newton, Chief Executive Officer of BTQ Technologies. “In this initiative, BTQ is providing both strategic advisory support and QSSN as the post-quantum security architecture, while helping lead coordination across the three-way partnership. We believe this proof-of-concept demonstrates how financial institutions can begin integrating quantum-resilient protections into digital money systems in a practical and operationally viable way.”

South Korea’s First Bank-Led PQC Stablecoin Infrastructure Initiative

BTQ is working alongside iM Bank and Finger on a three-way initiative to validate the issuance and distribution infrastructure for a Korean won stablecoin. In addition to supplying QSSN as the PQC security layer, BTQ is providing consulting support and helping to guide coordination across the partnership as the parties evaluate how to integrate post-quantum protections into bank-led digital asset infrastructure.

The proof-of-concept will validate several key components, including real-time reconciliation between bank reserves and blockchain-issued supply, a global-standard smart contract architecture, connectivity to global infrastructure for overseas distribution, and the integration of a PQC-based dual-signature security structure. By applying BTQ’s PQC signature architecture alongside the existing ECDSA cryptographic framework, the system is designed to preserve operational continuity for financial institutions while proactively addressing future quantum computing threats.

Built on Kaia Mainnet

A notable feature of the proof-of-concept is that it will be implemented on the Kaia mainnet, one of Korea’s leading Layer 1 blockchain networks. Kaia was created through the merger of Klaytn, the blockchain originally developed by Kakao, and Finschia, the blockchain associated with LINE. Kakao and LINE sit at the center of two of the largest messaging and digital platform ecosystems in Korea and Japan, respectively, making Kaia a significant piece of regional digital infrastructure.

Klaytn previously participated in the Bank of Korea’s CBDC pilot ecosystem, and the Bank of Korea has continued to advance CBDC testing through initiatives such as Project Hangang.

By combining BTQ’s PQC technology with blockchain infrastructure tied to the Kakao and LINE ecosystems, the proof-of-concept is intended to establish a model that aligns institutional-grade security, blockchain scalability, and evolving regulatory requirements for digital money infrastructure.

QSSN as the Security Layer

The PQC security foundation for the initiative is BTQ’s Quantum Secure Stablecoin Settlement Network, or QSSN, a quantum-secure network architecture designed for stablecoin, tokenized deposit, payment, and digital asset infrastructure. QSSN is designed to protect critical issuer functions, including stablecoin issuance, burning, transfer authority, upgrade control, and administrative permissions, by integrating PQC-based signatures while maintaining existing user experience and operational workflows.

BTQ has previously announced that QSSN was highlighted in the U.S. Post-Quantum Financial Infrastructure Framework (“PQFIF”) as a model architecture for post-quantum digital money infrastructure. The Company has also positioned QSSN as a standards-oriented initiative advanced through QuINSA and aligned with emerging post-quantum financial infrastructure requirements.

Addressing the Harvest-Now, Decrypt-Later Risk

The timing of the proof-of-concept reflects the growing urgency surrounding the “Harvest-Now, Decrypt-Later” risk, in which attackers may collect encrypted financial data today and decrypt it later once sufficiently advanced quantum capabilities emerge. Global institutions are already accelerating post-quantum migration. The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (“NIST”) has finalized its first set of post-quantum cryptography standards, including ML-DSA, ML-KEM, and SLH-DSA, while major technology companies and financial institutions continue to define their own post-quantum transition timelines.

BTQ’s QSSN addresses this challenge through a dual-signature design that allows existing ECDSA-based infrastructure to operate in parallel with NIST-aligned PQC signatures such as ML-DSA. This approach enables banks and payment infrastructure providers to begin a phased transition toward quantum-safe security without disrupting existing systems.

Expanding BTQ’s Korean Ecosystem

BTQ continues to expand its Korean ecosystem across digital assets, payments, banking infrastructure, and hardware-based security. In October 2025, BTQ announced that Finger had joined Danal as an early participant in BTQ’s QSSN pilot program, with the initiative expected to progress from proof-of-concept toward commercialization under QuINSA-aligned guidelines and broader industry frameworks such as PQFIF.

The commencement of the iM Bank proof-of-concept represents an important commercial signal for BTQ, indicating that demand for post-quantum migration among Korean financial institutions is beginning to move from policy discussion toward infrastructure-level implementation. As Korea advances both quantum technology policy and stablecoin-related regulatory discussions, BTQ believes QSSN is well positioned at the intersection of regulated finance, digital asset infrastructure, and post-quantum security.

About iM Bank
iM Bank is a South Korean commercial bank and a subsidiary of DGB Financial Group. Headquartered in Daegu, iM Bank presents itself as a financial companion for customers and traces its roots to Daegu Bank, which was established in 1967 as Korea’s first regional bank. For more information, please visit https://www.imbank.co.kr/

About Finger Inc. Group
Finger supplies and develops financial IT solutions to provide optimized money management strategies for employees and corporate customers. Providing “Smartphone Financial Services”, “Corporate Cash Management Services” for businesses, “Private Wealth Management Services” for private consumers.

Since the year 2000, Finger has accumulated a number of awards and patents regarding its businesses. Based on its Mobile Enterprise Application Platform(MEAP) Orchestra and its funds management system using screen-scrapping technologies, Finger was the first company in Korea to deliver a smartphone banking banking-service. For more information, please visit http://www.finger.co.kr/

About BTQ
BTQ Technologies Corp. (Nasdaq: BTQ | Cboe CA: BTQ) is a quantum technology company focused on accelerating the transition from classical networks to the quantum internet. Backed by a broad patent portfolio and deep technical expertise, BTQ is advancing a full-stack, neutral-atom quantum computing platform spanning hardware, middleware, and post-quantum security solutions for finance, telecommunications, logistics, life sciences, and defense.

Connect with BTQ: Website | LinkedIn | X/Twitter

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Olivier Roussy Newton
CEO, Chairman
Neither Cboe Canada nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward Looking Information

Certain statements herein contain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Such forward-looking statements or information include but are not limited to statements or information with respect to the business plans of the Company, including with respect to its research partnerships, and anticipated markets in which the Company may be listing its common shares. Forward-looking statements or information often can be identified by the use of words such as “anticipate”, “intend”, “expect”, “plan” or “may” and the variations of these words are intended to identify forward-looking statements and information.

The Company has made numerous assumptions including among other things, assumptions about general business and economic conditions, the development of post-quantum algorithms and quantum vulnerabilities, and the quantum computing industry generally. The foregoing list of assumptions is not exhaustive.

Although management of the Company believes that the assumptions made and the expectations represented by such statements or information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that forward-looking statements or information herein will prove to be accurate. Forward-looking statements and information are based on assumptions and involve known and unknown risks which may cause actual results to be materially different from any future results, expressed or implied, by such forward-looking statements or information. These factors include risks relating to: the availability of financing for the Company; business and economic conditions in the post-quantum and encryption computing industries generally; the speculative nature of the Company’s research and development programs; the supply and demand for labour and technological post-quantum and encryption technology; unanticipated events related to regulatory and licensing matters and environmental matters; changes in general economic conditions or conditions in the financial markets; changes in laws (including regulations respecting blockchains); risks related to the direct and indirect impact of COVID-19 including, but not limited to, its impact on general economic conditions, the ability to obtain financing as required, and causing potential delays to research and development activities; and other risk factors as detailed from time to time. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

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SOURCE BTQ Technologies Corp.

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AiID Emerges from Stealth with Frictionless ID™

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Fake IDs can look perfect. Real IDs shouldn’t have to.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., Oct. 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — After two years in stealth, AiID today unveiled Frictionless ID™, a credential intelligence platform built to improve a critical first step in identity verification: determining whether the ID itself is genuine.

Now operating at beta locations, AiID is taking on both sides of a costly problem: counterfeit credentials that get through and genuine IDs that get turned away.

In three product demonstration examples, enabling AiID’s intelligence layer changed a genuine ID from FAIL to PASS and two counterfeit IDs from PASS to FAIL.

“When a system repeatedly rejects genuine IDs, it does more than frustrate customers. It undermines confidence in the result,” said Brandon Currul, founder and CEO of AiID. “We built Frictionless ID™ to restore that confidence, with a clear objective: catch counterfeit credentials and stop unnecessarily rejecting genuine ones. Stop asking a good ID to prove it’s perfect.”

AiID has developed a proprietary intelligence layer that moves beyond how closely an ID resembles an ideal sample to evaluate the authenticity of the credential itself. Before facial matching, liveness or broader identity verification, its engine applies validated document intelligence to answer the question that comes first: Is this ID genuine?

The company’s commercialization strategy includes direct integrations, embedded licensing for identity and fraud-prevention platforms, and complete solutions combining credential intelligence with capture, biometrics and optional compliance services. The platform is designed to strengthen the systems businesses already use, not force them to start over.

AiID has demonstrated phone-image, API and end-to-end workflows. The company is now focused on scaling Frictionless ID™ for broader commercial availability.

AiID has begun investor discussions for its seed round. During Venture Atlanta week, the company will advance those conversations and explore commercial and integration partnerships to bring Frictionless ID™ to more businesses and verification platforms.

To arrange a demonstration or discuss investment and partnership opportunities, visit aiid.io/connect.

About AiID

AiID develops Frictionless ID™, proprietary credential intelligence built to strengthen document authentication and reduce friction across identity-verification workflows.

Media Contact

Brandon Currul, Founder & CEO
424595@email4pr.com | 508-321-1671

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SOURCE AiID

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Building the Future of Montessori Technology: How The Montessori Foundation and illumine Are Shaping What Comes Next

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WILMINGTON, Del., Oct. 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — For more than a century, Montessori education has been built around careful observation, independence, purposeful environments and deep respect for the individual child. The technology supporting Montessori schools, however, has often evolved along a very different path.

Many schools still operate across a patchwork of systems for admissions, enrollment, billing, attendance, parent communication, observations, records and school management. As organizations expand across multiple campuses, the result can be duplicated work, disconnected information and increasing complexity for already lean teams.

Now, that is beginning to change.

An ongoing collaboration between illumine and The Montessori Foundation, led by President Tim Seldin, is bringing Montessori expertise and technology together to rethink how schools can operate in a more connected, increasingly AI-powered world.

The shift is already translating into adoption. Over the past six months, more than 100 Montessori schools have begun using illumine, with schools across California, New York, Texas, Florida and other parts of the United States moving away from fragmented technology stacks. The objective is not simply to bring more technology into Montessori schools. It is to build technology that understands them.

When Montessori expertise met technology

The collaboration began at an industry event, where Seldin encountered illumine’s childcare and preschool management software firsthand.

What caught his attention was not simply the breadth of the platform, but its potential to address some of the operational realities facing Montessori organizations. That first interaction led to a deeper conversation, with Seldin helping the illumine team understand Montessori not simply as an educational philosophy, but as an operating environment with its own structures, workflows and priorities.

For more than three decades, The Montessori Foundation has worked with Montessori schools around the world to help them become stronger, more sustainable and more effective. That experience has given the Foundation a deep understanding of the realities facing Montessori school leaders, educators and families.

Through ongoing conversations with Seldin, illumine gained a closer understanding of how Montessori schools manage admissions, enrollment, family communication, observations and day-to-day operation, and how frequently those processes span multiple disconnected systems.

For illumine, the lesson was not that Montessori schools are resistant to technology. It was almost the opposite. Montessori leaders are looking for technology that understands their work. Together, the organizations are demonstrating what becomes possible when deep Montessori expertise and technology expertise inform one another from the outset.

From collaboration to impact

For schools that have already moved to illumine, the shift is about more than replacing individual software tools. Connecting previously separate systems can reduce the cost and complexity of managing multiple platforms while creating a more consistent experience for guides, administrators and families.

“We’re seeing Montessori schools across the country rethink how they manage their daily operations,” said Navneet Rastogi, Founder and CEO of illumine. “We first saw this shift take shape in California, where our initial wave of early adopters emerged in 2025. The momentum accelerated significantly this year with the launch of our purpose-built Montessori record-keeping tools for student observations and lesson planning within illumine.

Today, we’re seeing this trend extend beyond California to states like New York, Texas, and Florida, as more Montessori schools move away from fragmented systems and bring their administrative and academic record-keeping operations into one connected platform. This shift is helping schools reduce the cost and complexity of managing multiple tools while creating a more seamless experience for educators, administrators, and parents.

We’re continuing to invest in this technology because we believe Montessori schools deserve systems that not only support their day-to-day operations but also evolve alongside the ambitions of the educators and organizations using them.”

The collaboration is also expanding the conversation around what technology can mean for Montessori. Through webinars, live workshops and conversations with Montessori experts, illumine and The Montessori Foundation have created forums for leaders to explore topics ranging from enrollment and parent engagement to school operations, technology and AI. These programs have reached more than 1,000 Montessori leaders, creating a space to reimagine how technology can support the next generation of Montessori schools and educators.

The goal is not simply to promote technology. It is to build understanding, exchange ideas and give Montessori leaders a voice in shaping what gets built for their schools.

Building technology around Montessori practice

For Seldin, the value of the collaboration lies not in claiming that every challenge in Montessori operations has already been solved, but in the opportunity to keep building.

“What excites me is not a claim that every Montessori-specific technology problem has already been solved. It is how rapidly illumine is developing, the resources it can bring to the challenge, its experience building and supporting school-management technology at scale, and its willingness to listen to Montessori educators about what they actually need. That is one of the principal reasons for the collaboration.” said Tim Seldin, President of the Montessori Foundation.

The Foundation is bringing its experience and ideas to the development process, including perspectives on Montessori curriculum planning, classroom observation, parent communication, teacher support and narrative student reporting.

That exchange creates a continuous feedback loop: Montessori educators help identify the problems worth solving, technology creates new possibilities, and those possibilities return to the Montessori community for discussion, refinement and learning.

AI brings a new chapter

The collaboration is becoming even more consequential as artificial intelligence moves from a technology discussion into an operational reality. For Montessori schools, the question is increasingly not whether AI exists, but where it can create genuine value, where it should be used responsibly and where human judgment must remain central.

The opportunity is not to replace the teacher or the relationships at the heart of Montessori education. It is to reduce the administrative work surrounding them. A teacher can dictate an observation. AI can help organize it. Rough notes can become clearer reports. Information can be translated for families. Operational information can be turned into more useful reports.

The principle is simple: AI can draft. People decide.

The educator or administrator remains responsible for reviewing, correcting, approving and ultimately using the information. As AI develops rapidly, Montessori schools have an opportunity not merely to adopt new technology, but to help shape how it is applied within their unique educational context. illumine is committed to being part of that journey, building technology that advances what’s possible while preserving the human relationships and Montessori principles at the heart of education.

Montessori does not have to choose

The future of Montessori technology is not about replacing the principles that have made Montessori distinctive. It is about giving those principles a stronger operational foundation. The collaboration between The Montessori Foundation and illumine represents one approach to that future: bringing Montessori expertise and technology expertise together before building the solution.

The impact is already visible in schools moving away from fragmented systems, in a growing conversation around responsible AI and in technology being developed around Montessori workflows. Technology will continue to change rapidly. Montessori does not have to stand outside that conversation. It can help shape what comes next.

By bringing the people who understand Montessori together with the people building its technology, The Montessori Foundation and illumine are working toward a future where innovation does not move around Montessori, but is shaped with it.

About illumine
illumine is an AI-powered childcare management platform built for preschools, Montessori schools, and early education networks. It streamlines enrollment, tuition and billing, attendance tracking, regulatory compliance, and parent communication within a unified system powered by AI. Built to reduce administrative burden and improve operational efficiency, illumine supports childcare centers and multi-site programs across the United States and globally. For more information, visit www.illumine.app

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SOURCE illumine Technology Inc

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Omneky Harness Outperforms ChatGPT and Gemini on TasteBench Ad Score

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Omneky leads with an ad score of 8.8 compared with 7.6 for the next best tested configuration

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Omneky, an AI advertising platform, today announced that its advertising harness earned the highest ad score in the TasteBench evaluation, scoring 8.8 and outperforming all six tested ChatGPT and Gemini configurations. The next-best configuration, ChatGPT using GPT-6 Astra at medium reasoning, scored 7.6.

Across the tested configurations, ChatGPT ad scores ranged from 7.3 to 7.6 and Gemini scores ranged from 6.8 to 7.2. Omneky led the nearest competitor by 1.2 points. The comparison covered 52 ad requests across four brands, producing 364 ads for evaluation.

The results highlight the role of the harness in creative production. A harness is the software surrounding a model that supplies context and directs its work. Omneky’s advertising workflow reads brand information, develops art direction, provides product and logo references, and selects an image model. TasteBench compares the ads produced by these complete workflows.

“Creative is one of the most important levers for growth, and the quality of the finished ad matters to every marketer,” said Hikari Senju, founder and CEO of Omneky. “We built Omneky’s harness to bring brand knowledge and creative direction into every generation. TasteBench gives marketers a way to compare the quality of what these systems actually produce.”

Omneky also led the separate readiness measure: 60% of its ads passed every applicable check, compared with 13% for the next-best configuration. This supporting metric measures whether an ad meets all of the benchmark’s required checks.

Omneky conducted the evaluation with three anonymous judges, applying the same standard to each tested system. ChatGPT and Gemini runs used APIs with web search and image generation; app spot-checks produced similar results. The findings assess generated creative and do not measure campaign returns.

Explore the results and side-by-side examples at www.omneky.com/tastebench.

About Omneky
Omneky is an AI advertising platform that helps businesses create image and video ads, review campaign performance and launch campaigns. Its agent brings these workflows into a single conversation. Learn more at www.omneky.com.

Media Contact: Hikari Senju | 424652@email4pr.com | (415) 236-2333

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SOURCE Omneky Inc

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