The Ethereum Foundation has made post-quantum security a top priority, signaling a shift from research to real-world implementation.
The EF announced a new Post Quantum team with $2 million in funding, driven by concerns that advances in quantum computing could break current blockchain cryptography sooner than expected. Ethereum researcher Justin Drake confirmed the shift, noting that work on quantum resistance started back in 2019, but has now entered an active construction and testing phase.
The new team will be led by Ethereum Foundation engineer Thomas Coratger, in collaboration with Emile from the leanVM team. Their role includes research, protocol design, and testing infrastructure to prepare Ethereum for future quantum threats. Coordination between developers is also increasing, with bi-weekly ‘All Core Devs – Post Quantum’ calls hosted by Antonio Sanso to discuss progress and user-facing security issues.
Today marks a turning point in the Ethereum Foundation’s long-term quantum strategy.
We have formed a new Post Quantum (PQ) team, led by the brilliant Thomas Coratger (@tcoratger). He is joined by Emile, one of the world-class talents behind leanVM. leanVM is the cryptographic…
-Justin Drake (@drakefjustin) January 23, 2026
To support stronger cryptography, the foundation has announced two $1 million research awards. The new Poseidon Prize will focus on improving the security of the Poseidon hash function, while the existing Proximity Prize will continue to fund research into hash-based cryptography, which is widely seen as one of the most secure approaches against quantum attacks.
Ethereum is preparing for quantum threats
Post-quantum work is already being done across the Ethereum ecosystem. Teams including Zeam, Ream Labs, PierTwo, Gean client and Ethlambda are working with major Ethereum consensus clients such as Lighthouse, Grandine and Prysm. These groups hold weekly meetings to ensure their systems remain compatible.
The foundation is also planning in-person collaboration, including a three-day expert workshop in October and a post-quantum developer day on March 29 in Cannes ahead of EthCC. Opinions in the crypto industry vary on the urgency of the quantum threat. Some believe this is a short-term risk, while others believe it will last for decades.
However, Ethereum leaders including Vitalik Buterin have warned that quantum breakthroughs could happen before 2030. To help the network prepare, the Ethereum Foundation plans to release a clear transition guide on pq.ethereum.org, outlining how Ethereum can become quantum-resistant without downtime or monetary loss.
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