Ethereum Abandons Poseidon for SHA and BLAKE in Post-Quantum Push
The Ethereum Foundation has made a significant decision to abandon its custom-built hash function, Poseidon, in favor of established alternatives like SHA and BLAKE. This move is part of Ethereum's broader effort to enhance Layer 1 security and prepare for the post-quantum era. According to Ethereum researcher Justin Drake, advances in binary-field SNARK design have made conventional functions like SHA-2 and BLAKE2s comparable in performance to Poseidon inside proof systems.
Drake described this shift as a major breakthrough, saying 'the key was not SNARK-friendly hashes, but hash-friendly SNARKs.' This change is part of Ethereum's roadmap for post-quantum cryptography, aiming to provide a more battle-tested path against quantum computers. The technical target includes deploying production-grade leanVM in 2027 and spanning Ethereum's consensus, data, and execution layers by 2028.
In other developments, Robinhood Chain has surpassed Ethereum in NFT trading volume, with daily NFT transactions reaching $3.13 million. This milestone follows the success of StonkBrokers, a project blending NFTs, meme-coin mechanics, and real-world-asset gameplay that has become the breakout hit on Robinhood Chain.
Hyperliquid introduced an auto-earn lending feature, allowing HLP to automatically route unused USDC into its native lending pool to earn interest. This move is aimed at putting idle capital to work more efficiently in DeFi protocols. Uniswap also rolled out a change routing creator fees into a buy-and-burn contract.
A USENIX security study found that all 15 tested x402 payment providers, including Coinbase, violated at least one security rule. Meanwhile, MegaETH's USDm stablecoin supply collapsed from $600 million to roughly $18 million since spring.