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Ethereum Launches $2M Quantum Defense Team as Threat Timeline Accelerates
The Ethereum Foundation has officially elevated quantum resistance to a top strategic priority with the formation of a dedicated Post Quantum team backed by $2 million in funding.
The new initiative comes as blockchain networks face mounting pressure to defend against quantum computing threats that industry experts increasingly warn could materialize within years rather than decades.
Ethereum researcher Justin Drake announced the team formation on Friday, revealing that Thomas Coratger will lead the effort alongside Emile, a core contributor to leanVM.
“After years of quiet R&D, EF management has officially declared PQ security a top strategic priority,” Drake said, adding that the foundation has been developing its quantum strategy since a 2019 presentation at StarkWare Sessions.
Today marks an inflection in the Ethereum Foundation's long-term quantum strategy.
We've formed a new Post Quantum (PQ) team, led by the brilliant Thomas Coratger (@tcoratger). Joining him is Emile, one of the world-class talents behind leanVM. leanVM is the cryptographic…
— Justin Drake (@drakefjustin) January 23, 2026
Foundation Commits Resources Across Multiple Fronts
The Ethereum Foundation is launching comprehensive defensive measures spanning research, development, and infrastructure testing.
Antonio Sanso will kick off bi-weekly All Core Devs Post Quantum breakout calls next month, focusing on user-facing security, including dedicated precompiles, account abstraction, and transaction signature aggregation with leanVM.
The foundation announced two $1 million prize competitions to strengthen cryptographic foundations.
The newly launched Poseidon Prize targets the hardening of the Poseidon hash function, while the existing Proximity Prize continues to drive hash-based cryptography research.
“We are betting big on hash-based cryptography to enjoy the strongest and leanest cryptographic foundations,” Drake stated.
Multi-client post-quantum consensus development networks are already operational, with pioneer teams including Zeam, Ream Labs, PierTwo, Gean client, and Ethlambda working alongside established consensus clients Lighthouse, Grandine, and Prysm.
Weekly post-quantum interop calls, coordinated by Will Corcoran, are managing collaborative technical development across these diverse implementation teams.
The foundation will host a three-day expert workshop in October, bringing together top specialists from around the world, building on last year’s post-quantum workshop in Cambridge.
An additional dedicated post-quantum day is scheduled for March 29 in Cannes, ahead of EthCC, to create multiple forums for advancing research and coordination across the global Ethereum development community.
Industry Voices Split on Timeline Urgency
The quantum threat has divided blockchain leaders on both timeline predictions and strategic priorities.
Independent Ethereum educator sassal.eth called quantum computing “a very real threat for blockchains” that is “coming sooner than most people think,” praising the foundation’s defensive preparations.
Pantera Capital General Partner Franklin Bi predicted that traditional financial institutions will struggle with the transition to post-quantum cryptography.
“People are over-estimating how quickly Wall Street will adapt to post-quantum cryptography,” Bi said, adding that blockchain networks possess unique capabilities for system-wide upgrades at a global scale.
The post-quantum race begins.
My prediction:
People are over-estimating how quickly Wall Street will adapt to post-quantum cryptography. Like any systemic software upgrade, it'll be slow & chaotic with single points of failure for years. Traditional systems are only as strong… https://t.co/6mEdFKcXrm
— Franklin Bi (@FranklinBi) January 23, 2026
He argued that successful quantum resistance could transform select blockchains into “post-quantum safe havens for data and assets,” particularly as traditional systems face prolonged periods of vulnerability due to single points of failure.
Bitcoin community assessments remain sharply contested. Vitalik Buterin previously shared Metaculus data showing a median 2040 timeline for quantum computers breaking modern cryptography, with roughly a 20% probability before the end of 2030.
Metaculus's median date for when quantum computers will break modern cryptography is 2040:https://t.co/Li8ni8A9Ox
Seemingly about a 20% chance it will be before end of 2030.
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) August 27, 2025
Blockstream CEO Adam Back has dismissed near-term concerns, claiming practical threats remain decades away and accusing critics of creating unnecessary market alarm.
Project ZKM contributor Stephen Duan acknowledged transition challenges while calling quantum resistance “inevitable,” noting that his team will soon upgrade multiset hashing to a lattice-based construction.
ZKsync inventor Alex Gluk also said the network’s Airbender prover is already “100% PQ-proof,” highlighting Ethereum’s unmatched ability to adapt to emerging threats while maintaining its position as the global financial settlement layer.
Foundation Plans Comprehensive Roadmap Release
The Ethereum Foundation will publish detailed strategic guidance on pq.ethereum.org covering full transition planning to achieve zero loss of funds and zero downtime over the coming years.
Drake highlighted recent artificial intelligence breakthroughs in formal proof generation, noting that specialized mathematics AI recently completed one of the hardest lemmas in hash-based SNARK foundations in a single eight-hour run costing $200.
The foundation is developing educational materials, including a six-part video series with ZKPodcast and enterprise-focused resources through EF Enterprise Acceleration.
Quantum Threatens $600B of Bitcoin @nic_carter joins me for an in-person @PodcastDelphi to cover his 6 months of research on Quantum's effect on $BTC
Nic's first and only podcast on Quantum
Listen directly here, or on any of the links below pic.twitter.com/CSnv7xekqn
— Tommy (@Shaughnessy119) January 9, 2026
Ethereum now has representation on the post-quantum advisory board, Coinbase announced this week, bringing together leading cryptography researchers to assess long-term blockchain security risks as quantum computing capabilities advance across government and private-sector development programs.
The post Ethereum Launches $2M Quantum Defense Team as Threat Timeline Accelerates appeared first on Cryptonews.
The new initiative comes as blockchain networks face mounting pressure to defend against quantum computing threats that industry experts increasingly warn could materialize within years rather than decades.
Ethereum researcher Justin Drake announced the team formation on Friday, revealing that Thomas Coratger will lead the effort alongside Emile, a core contributor to leanVM.
“After years of quiet R&D, EF management has officially declared PQ security a top strategic priority,” Drake said, adding that the foundation has been developing its quantum strategy since a 2019 presentation at StarkWare Sessions.
Today marks an inflection in the Ethereum Foundation's long-term quantum strategy.
We've formed a new Post Quantum (PQ) team, led by the brilliant Thomas Coratger (@tcoratger). Joining him is Emile, one of the world-class talents behind leanVM. leanVM is the cryptographic…
— Justin Drake (@drakefjustin) January 23, 2026
Foundation Commits Resources Across Multiple Fronts
The Ethereum Foundation is launching comprehensive defensive measures spanning research, development, and infrastructure testing.
Antonio Sanso will kick off bi-weekly All Core Devs Post Quantum breakout calls next month, focusing on user-facing security, including dedicated precompiles, account abstraction, and transaction signature aggregation with leanVM.
The foundation announced two $1 million prize competitions to strengthen cryptographic foundations.
The newly launched Poseidon Prize targets the hardening of the Poseidon hash function, while the existing Proximity Prize continues to drive hash-based cryptography research.
“We are betting big on hash-based cryptography to enjoy the strongest and leanest cryptographic foundations,” Drake stated.
Multi-client post-quantum consensus development networks are already operational, with pioneer teams including Zeam, Ream Labs, PierTwo, Gean client, and Ethlambda working alongside established consensus clients Lighthouse, Grandine, and Prysm.
Weekly post-quantum interop calls, coordinated by Will Corcoran, are managing collaborative technical development across these diverse implementation teams.
The foundation will host a three-day expert workshop in October, bringing together top specialists from around the world, building on last year’s post-quantum workshop in Cambridge.
An additional dedicated post-quantum day is scheduled for March 29 in Cannes, ahead of EthCC, to create multiple forums for advancing research and coordination across the global Ethereum development community.
Industry Voices Split on Timeline Urgency
The quantum threat has divided blockchain leaders on both timeline predictions and strategic priorities.
Independent Ethereum educator sassal.eth called quantum computing “a very real threat for blockchains” that is “coming sooner than most people think,” praising the foundation’s defensive preparations.
Pantera Capital General Partner Franklin Bi predicted that traditional financial institutions will struggle with the transition to post-quantum cryptography.
“People are over-estimating how quickly Wall Street will adapt to post-quantum cryptography,” Bi said, adding that blockchain networks possess unique capabilities for system-wide upgrades at a global scale.
The post-quantum race begins.
My prediction:
People are over-estimating how quickly Wall Street will adapt to post-quantum cryptography. Like any systemic software upgrade, it'll be slow & chaotic with single points of failure for years. Traditional systems are only as strong… https://t.co/6mEdFKcXrm
— Franklin Bi (@FranklinBi) January 23, 2026
He argued that successful quantum resistance could transform select blockchains into “post-quantum safe havens for data and assets,” particularly as traditional systems face prolonged periods of vulnerability due to single points of failure.
Bitcoin community assessments remain sharply contested. Vitalik Buterin previously shared Metaculus data showing a median 2040 timeline for quantum computers breaking modern cryptography, with roughly a 20% probability before the end of 2030.
Metaculus's median date for when quantum computers will break modern cryptography is 2040:https://t.co/Li8ni8A9Ox
Seemingly about a 20% chance it will be before end of 2030.
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) August 27, 2025
Blockstream CEO Adam Back has dismissed near-term concerns, claiming practical threats remain decades away and accusing critics of creating unnecessary market alarm.
Project ZKM contributor Stephen Duan acknowledged transition challenges while calling quantum resistance “inevitable,” noting that his team will soon upgrade multiset hashing to a lattice-based construction.
ZKsync inventor Alex Gluk also said the network’s Airbender prover is already “100% PQ-proof,” highlighting Ethereum’s unmatched ability to adapt to emerging threats while maintaining its position as the global financial settlement layer.
Foundation Plans Comprehensive Roadmap Release
The Ethereum Foundation will publish detailed strategic guidance on pq.ethereum.org covering full transition planning to achieve zero loss of funds and zero downtime over the coming years.
Drake highlighted recent artificial intelligence breakthroughs in formal proof generation, noting that specialized mathematics AI recently completed one of the hardest lemmas in hash-based SNARK foundations in a single eight-hour run costing $200.
The foundation is developing educational materials, including a six-part video series with ZKPodcast and enterprise-focused resources through EF Enterprise Acceleration.
Quantum Threatens $600B of Bitcoin @nic_carter joins me for an in-person @PodcastDelphi to cover his 6 months of research on Quantum's effect on $BTC
Nic's first and only podcast on Quantum
Listen directly here, or on any of the links below pic.twitter.com/CSnv7xekqn
— Tommy (@Shaughnessy119) January 9, 2026
Ethereum now has representation on the post-quantum advisory board, Coinbase announced this week, bringing together leading cryptography researchers to assess long-term blockchain security risks as quantum computing capabilities advance across government and private-sector development programs.
The post Ethereum Launches $2M Quantum Defense Team as Threat Timeline Accelerates appeared first on Cryptonews.
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