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blockchain cryptography The long-standing, theoretical threat to quantum computing has been a distant challenge to quantum computing. And a few months later, however, that calculus has rapidly changed.
While the Bitcoin community has been arguing against threats to its protocol for the past year, it appears that the Ethereum community is beginning their process in 2026.
The Ethereum Foundation’s (EF) Post-Quantum (PQ) team is led by Thomas Coratger who says “The theory of quantum computing has become an engineering field”. And that means we need to make sure what’s going on,’ he said. Paraphrast.
The EF officially elevated post-quantum security to a strategic priority earlier in January, creating tjat dedicated PQ team for research, tooling and real-world upgrades to protect the network’s cryptographic foundations.
Meanwhile, big industry players are defending themselves Coinbase announced an independent quantum advisory board with leading cryptographers to guide long-term blockchain security planning — saying that even custodial infrastructure must prepare for quantum-era risks.
The 10-year roadmap for transitioning its Superchain stack, from wallets to sequencers, towards post-quantum cryptography was outlined by Optimism across the ecosystem — one of Ethereum’s largest layer-2 networks — toward post quantum cryptographie (committing to phase out vulnerable signatures and ensure continuity across layer 2 networks).
These moves are a significant change post-quantum security is no longer considered ‘funned topic for the long future’, but he has live concern shaping development roadmaps, governance discussions and ecosystem coordination across Ethereum and beyond.
For the EF, the move toward post-quantum security isn’t about sounding an alarm, but it’s about not getting caught flat-footed.
Coratger has spent the last year quietly working on post-quantum research within the EF, before this effort was officially announced this month. But the creation of a dedicated team was publicized what had already become an internal issue if quantum computers are to be ready early, Ethereum must be prepared well before that moment.
For the time, the team is focused on Ethereum’s “consensus layer” – that part of the network which allows thousands of validators to agree on what transactions are legitimate and which blocks are added to the chain. That system is based on good cryptography, which works well now today but could eventually be broken by powerful quantum computers.
One of the biggest challenges is replacing Ethereum’s current signature system, which efficiently bundles thousands of validator approvals.
And Coratger said, “that’s a system that works so well today. But “the post-quantum alternatives don’t have the same properties as those of ”. A major problem with figuring out how to make them work at the scale of Ethereum is finding it. , ” and.
To address that, the foundation is constructing what it calls leanVM, an extremely special piece of software designed to combine many post-quantum approvals into one proof which can be added to the blockchain without overwhelming it. The technology is complex under the hood, but it’s just an easy goal keep Ethereum running smoothly even if the cryptography underneath must change.
And this work is already happening in practice.
“We already have test networks running with post-quantum signatures,” Coratger said.
Coratger stressed that Ethereum is not in immediate danger, especially as important was its . The foundation is acting now, because that gap between how fast technology can change and how slowly decentralized networks can move. It is aimed to make sure the transition is made before quantum computers become a real threat.
“The worst-case scenario is that quantum computers arrive and we’re not ready,” Coratger said.
One thing that has stood out to Coratger over the past year is how quickly the underlying science is advancing.
“New breakthroughs are happening all the time,” he said. “Sometimes it’s hard to keep up.”
To keep up, the Ethereum Foundation is working closely with outside researchers and developers on post-quantum efforts.
For Coratger, the takeaway is that post-quantum security has crossed an important threshold.
Now, it’s no longer a distant thought experiment or just an academic debate. But for Ethereum, it’s becoming a long-term engineering project one that will shape how the network evolves over time.
Read more: Ethereum Foundation makes post quantum security a top priority as new team forms
Thanks for reading Quantum threat gets real: Ethereum Foundation prioritizes security with leanVM and PQ signatures
