The Ethereum Foundation has made post-quantum security a centerpiece of the network’s long-term roadmap, announcing the creation of a dedicated Post Quantum (PQ) team.
The modern team will be led by Thomas Coratger, a cryptographic engineer at the Ethereum Foundation, with the support of Emile, a cryptographer closely associated with LeanVM, According to cryptocurrency researcher Justin Drake.
“After years of quiet R&D, EF management has officially announced that PQ security is a top strategic priority,” Drake said in a Saturday post on X. “It’s 2026, the timeline is accelerating. It’s time to move to full PQ.”
The researcher described LeanVM, a specialized minimalist zero-knowledge resistant virtual machine (zkVM), as a core element of Ethereum’s (ETH) post-quantum strategy.
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EF supports the post-quantum push with developer sessions and funding
Drake outlined several short-term steps to prepare the ecosystem. A two-week developer session focused on post-quantum transactions is scheduled to launch next month, led by Ethereum researcher Antonio Sanso. Sessions will focus on user-centric security, including protocol-level cryptographic tools, account abstraction paths, and long-term work on transaction signature aggregation using LeanVM.
The Ethereum Foundation is also supporting its activities with modern funding. Drake announced a $1 million Poseidon Prize to strengthen the Poseidon hash function, as well as another $1 million initiative known as the Proximity Prize, both aimed at advancing post-quantum cryptography.
On the engineering side, Drake said multi-client post-quantum consensus development networks are already in place, with multiple teams participating and coordinating on weekly interoperability calls.
Moreover, the foundation will host a special post-quantum event in October, followed by a post-quantum day in behind schedule March, before EthCC. Educational activities are also underway, including video content and materials targeted at enterprises.
Related: Quantum computers can bring lost Bitcoins back to life
Coinbase creates a quantum risk assessment board
The announcement comes amid increasing sensitivity of cryptocurrency markets to quantum risk. On Wednesday, Coinbase revealed that it had established an independent advisory board to assess how advances in quantum computing could impact the cryptography that secures major blockchain networks, including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum.
The council brings together experts from academia and industry in the fields of quantum computing, cryptography and blockchain security, and will publish public research and guidance for developers, organizations and users. Its first position paper is expected to be published in early 2027.
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