Ethereum Ditches Poseidon in Favor of Established Hash Functions
The Ethereum Foundation has decided to abandon its use of the Poseidon hash function in favor of established alternatives like SHA-2 or BLAKE2s. This decision follows an eight-year, $8-figure research effort aimed at developing post-quantum cryptography for the network.
According to Justin Drake, a researcher with the Ethereum Foundation, the shift away from Poseidon is due to advances in proof-system design that have made traditional hash functions more practical. Specifically, binary-field SNARKs can now match the performance of Poseidon when paired with established hash functions.
The move towards established hashes could reduce Ethereum's reliance on specialized cryptographic functions that require extensive analysis and study.
Drake linked this decision to Ethereum's post-quantum security program, which is preparing the protocol for computers capable of breaking elliptic-curve cryptography. The plan also covers native privacy, formal verification, post-quantum scaling, and possible replacements for parts of the Ethereum Virtual Machine.