The Ethereum Foundation (EF) launched a new post-quantum Ethereum website on March 24th of this year. This website is dedicated to centralizing all the resources, specifications, and advances of the ecosystem’s post-quantization efforts.
EF said the launch officially formalizes research “that has been ongoing for more than eight years and now involves research teams in cryptography, protocol architecture, and protocol tuning, all working in an open and coordinated manner.”
The research on display at the new site began in 2018 and focused on adding transaction signatures based on zkSTARK technology, a type of zero-knowledge (ZK) cryptographic proof that does not rely on elliptic curve cryptography (EEC). This last cryptographic system, specifically one called ECDSA, is currently used by Ethereum. Potentially vulnerable to quantum.
According to the foundation, We already have over 10 customer teams building and deploying development networks every week. (fatnet) through the program PQ interoperability Integrate new websites (weekly interoperability calls coordinating different Ethereum teams implementing post-quantum cryptography).
Roadmap: 4 milestones, 3 tiers
EF has published a post-quantum roadmap consisting of four consecutive milestones across the three layers of the Ethereum protocol: consensus, execution, and data. None have a specific date assigned to them.
- First milestone, I*: Supports consensus layer and introduces post-quantum key register (PQ key registryThis serves as a starting point for validators to begin migrating to cryptographic schemes that are resistant to quantum attacks.
- Second milestone, J*– Target the execution layer by introducing precompiled post-quantum signatures. These are modules integrated into Ethereum that will allow these types of signatures to be efficiently verified, allowing users to voluntarily move to quantum-proof authentication without incurring a forced outage event.
- Third milestone, L*: The most complex, as it simultaneously encompasses a consensus layer and a data layer. First, they propose replacing the BLS signature scheme used by Ethereum validators with signatures based on hash functions (leanXMSS), which are considered resistant to quantum attacks. Meanwhile, for the data layer, EF builds “leanVM”, a minimal virtual machine based on zkSNARK tests, to restore scalability without sacrificing security. This milestone promises the introduction of post-quantum processing. bloba data packet that allows Ethereum to utilize information from the second layer (L2) network.
- Fourth milestone, M*– Combine execution and data with full post-quantum aggregation. The final horizon, simply called “the future”, corresponds to a post-quantum collective agreement in all layers, with no fixed deadline.
What Vitalik Already Warned About: 4 Vulnerabilities and Dates
As reported by CriptoNoticias, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin published an analysis on February 26 that identified four components of the network. Considered vulnerable to quantum computing: Consensus systems, data availability, digital signatures for user accounts, and zero-knowledge proofs used in applications.
For each, he proposed specific solutions. Replace BLS with signatures based on consensus hash functions. Use STARK tests for data availability. Introducing native account abstraction mechanisms to unify and make more flexible how accounts behave on the network. Users can move to post-quantum signatures;It also reduces processing costs on the network by replacing separate verification of each cryptographic proof with a single, compact proof that proves they are all valid.
those suggestions These are consistent with the roadmap that EF just published.which suggests that there is the same alignment between the co-founder’s vision and the research team’s research.
Buterin’s most concrete data is also the most urgent. The co-founders estimate that there is a quantum threat to ECDSA, the signature algorithm that protects the signatures of Ethereum transactions and is also used in Bitcoin. Possibly realized in 2028. If this estimate is correct, all four milestones of the EF roadmap should be completed by then. As of now, none have been assigned a date.
EF had a more cautious opinion. “Quantum computing will ultimately break the public-key cryptography that guarantees ownership, authentication, and consensus in all digital systems. “We don’t think we’re going to have a quantum computer that can do that anytime soon.”
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