- The Ethereum Foundation revealed that it had set up an R&D team focused on ETH’s post-quantum migration as early as 2019.
- In 2026, the group formed a dedicated team to prioritize the chain’s PQ transition.
Cybersecurity experts warn that the era of quantum computing is upon us. Despite their consensus that the technology, considered the boogeyman of the crypto world, is still years away from achieving its so-called Y2Q (Year2Quantum) or Q-Day status, the sense of urgency is palpable.
In fact, they cautioned that we are now at the “Harvest Now, Decrypt Later” stage, in which state actors and hackers are already harvesting data from the blockchain. This comes with the hope that they could eventually untangle their currently unbreakable encrypted data once quantum computing reaches such a capability.
Ethereum (ETH), being one of the expected primary targets of a quantum attack due to its rich ecosystem, is preparing for such an eventuality as the doomsday clock for crypto dials near midnight.
Ethereum’s Post-Quantum Migration
Justin Drake, a researcher at the Ethereum Foundation, revealed during the weekend that their organization has been discreetly conducting R&D focused on post-quantum (PQ) security since 2019. Fast-forward to the present, and he claimed their long-term quantum strategy is already at an inflection point.
Drake stated that his group has integrated the matter into leanVM’s core goal as early as 2024. Vitalik Buterin, founder of Ethereum, notably proposed incorporating leanVM into Ethereum’s roadmap as a minimal zero-knowledge (ZK) virtual machine (VM) to lower transaction costs and enhance scalability. More importantly, he believes it could pave the way for the chain’s transition toward PQ security.
The Foundation’s researcher admitted that the pace of PQ’s engineering over the years has been “nothing short of phenomenal.” Hence, he pointed out that 2026 is the time for Ethereum’s complete PQ migration as “timelines are accelerating” based on quantum computing’s recent technological breakthroughs.
Establishing a Team Dedicated to the ETH’s Full PQ Shift
Drake said the Foundation will have a bi-weekly All Core Devs calls starting next month to discuss the factors crucial to Ethereum’s PQ shift. Central to their talks are user-facing security measures covering dedicated precompiles, account abstraction, and longer-term transaction signature aggregation with leanVM in preparation for the migration.
Complementing these is the $1M Poseidon Prize aimed at reinforcing Ethereum’s Poseidon cryptographic hash function, which is central to its mainnet’s ZK proof adoption. Furthermore, the Foundation will organize a series of hackathons and workshops to significantly advance and reinforce the network’s PQ transformation by brainstorming additional solutions and exploring the use of artificial intelligence (AI) for quantum-proofing.
The Ethereum Foundation has also announced its decision to join Coinbase’s PQ advisory board to form a “dream team” of experts from academia and industry to tackle the looming quantum threat.
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