Ethereum Foundation Aims for Quantum-Resistant Layer 1 by 2029

The Ethereum Foundation has set its sights on achieving a fully quantum-resistant layer 1 by December 2029. The Protocol Cluster, which is responsible for this goal, wants to prepare for the possibility that sufficiently powerful quantum computers could appear as early as 2030.

Currently, it seems more likely that such a breakthrough will occur further into the future, but Ethereum developers are taking no chances and want to be proactive in addressing the threat. The Foundation has set a self-imposed deadline of December 2029 for achieving this goal.

The roadmap includes post-quantum signature schemes and changes across Ethereum's transaction, consensus, and data-availability systems. This is because a sufficiently advanced quantum computer could theoretically break some of the cryptographic schemes that blockchains currently rely on.