Ethereum Prepares Quantum-Resistant Staking System Upgrade
Ethereum developers have drafted a plan to quantum-proof the network's $104 billion staking system. The draft proposal, filed as an Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP), aims to replace the existing validator deposit contract with one that can handle keys and credential data of up to 8,192 bytes each.
The current contract accepts only BLS12-381 scheme keys, which are fixed at 48 bytes. However, post-quantum schemes require far more space, and the new contract would allow for cryptographic formats a quantum machine could not crack.
Thomas Coratger, one of the proposal's authors, summarized that both Ethereum and Bitcoin are leaning toward hash-based digital signatures as their post-quantum format of choice. This aligns with the 8,192-byte ceiling set by the new contract.