Ethereum should prepare for the quantum threat, says Vitalik Buterin

Source: PortaldoBitcoin Original Title: Ethereum must prepare for the quantum threat, says Vitalik Buterin Original Link: Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, is urging the network to adopt cryptography capable of resisting future quantum computing attacks — before they become a problem. The prominent Ethereum figure warned that waiting until the threat is real could turn blockchain security into a race that cannot be lost.

To prepare for the day when a practical quantum computer becomes available, Buterin argued that the Ethereum base layer needs to undergo what he called a “walkaway test” — the idea that the network’s value should not depend on continuous protocol updates or its governance.

“Ethereum, the blockchain, needs to have the characteristics we seek in Ethereum applications,” wrote Buterin. “Therefore, Ethereum itself needs to pass the walkaway test.”

Ethereum itself must pass the walkaway test.

Ethereum is meant to be a home for trustless and trust-minimized applications, whether in finance, governance or elsewhere. It must support applications that are more like tools — the hammer that once you buy it, it’s yours — than like…

Even if development slows down or stops, he stated, Ethereum should remain stable, secure, and reliable for the coming decades.

A central point of his argument is the imminent threat posed by quantum computing. Buterin said that Ethereum should not delay adopting cryptography capable of resisting future quantum computers, even if current machines are not yet capable of breaking blockchain security.

“We must resist the trap of saying: ‘Let’s delay quantum resistance until the last possible moment, in the name of extracting more efficiencies for a little longer,’” said Buterin. He added that individual users have the right to delay changes to prepare for a quantum threat, but protocols do not.

“Being able to say ‘The Ethereum protocol, as it is today, is cryptographically secure for a hundred years’ is something we should strive to achieve as quickly as possible, and insist on as a point of pride,” he affirmed.

The quantum threat

The publication follows earlier comments from Buterin about the potential impact of quantum computing on blockchain security but emphasizes the risks of waiting. Buterin’s view on the quantum risk has evolved over the years since 2019, when he downplayed quantum advances. Now, he argues that systems like Ethereum cannot afford to treat quantum resistance as a last-minute update once the technology becomes a reality.

Blockchains face particular exposure because networks like Bitcoin and Ethereum rely on elliptic curve cryptography. While secure against current computers, it can be broken by sufficiently powerful quantum machines using Shor’s algorithm to extract private keys from public ones.

Although researchers claim that current quantum machines are still too small and unstable to threaten real-world blockchains, advances in hardware, error correction, and system stability have reignited discussions about future timelines.

Despite Buterin’s call for action, others warn that hasty changes could have undesirable consequences.

“Post-quantum cryptography is often about 10 times slower, with proofs 10 times larger and 10 times less efficient,” said Charles Hoskinson, founder of Cardano and co-founder of Ethereum. “So, if you adopt this, you’re basically reducing your blockchain’s capacity by an order of magnitude.”

Beyond the walkaway test, Buterin highlighted technical priorities that, according to him, Ethereum needs to address to remain viable in the long term — including an architecture capable of scaling to thousands of transactions per second through mechanisms like EVM validation with zero-knowledge proofs and data availability sampling, with future growth mainly handled by parameter changes.

He also pointed out the need for a durable state design, a general-purpose account model beyond “embedded signatures,” a gas model resistant to denial-of-service attacks, a proof-of-stake economy that can remain decentralized in the future, and block construction mechanisms designed to resist centralization and maintain censorship resistance.

Buterin stated that the goal is to complete this work in the coming years, advocating that future innovations occur mainly through client optimization and limited parameter changes, rather than repeated updates.

“Every year, we should aim to check off at least one of these items, preferably several,” he wrote. “Do the right thing once, based on knowledge of what is truly right (and not on band-aid solutions), and maximize Ethereum’s long-term technological and social robustness.”