Ethereum users could add quantum-resistant security to their accounts for as little as $0.07 without a network upgrade, according to a new proposal. The plan involves adapting a U.S. government-approved post-quantum signature standard to work more efficiently on the Ethereum blockchain, offering a near-term bridge against future cryptographic threats.
Ethereum could begin adding post-quantum protections to accounts for as little as $0.07, without waiting for a hard fork. This is according to the Ethereum Foundation‘s Kohaku project lead Nicolas Consigny.
In a social media post, Consigny shared a paper proposing a cheaper way to protect accounts against future quantum-computing threats. The approach adapts SPHINCS+, a post-quantum signature standard developed by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Dubbed “SPHINCS-,” the proposal aims to reduce onchain verification costs without requiring a protocol change. Consigny described SPHINCS- as a bridge toward a future post-quantum signature system dubbed “leanSPHINCS.”
The proposal seeks to address the long-term risk of a quantum threat to Ethereum’s current signature algorithm. It offers a cost-efficient solution that may be deployed before a dedicated hard fork is developed.
In April, post-quantum startup Project Eleven awarded a prize to researcher Giancarlo Lelli for using a quantum computer to break a 15-bit elliptic-curve key. Bitcoin’s keys are 256 bits long, significantly larger than the key Lelli cracked.
According to Glassnode, about 1.92 million Bitcoin, representing nearly 10% of the total supply, are considered “structurally unsafe” in a future quantum attack scenario. Another 4.12 million BTC, or 20.6% of the supply, are classified as “operationally unsafe.”
The analytics company estimates the remaining 69.8% of the supply, or 13.99 million Bitcoin, remains unexposed to a quantum computing threat. This is broadly in line with Ark Invest’s March estimate that 65% of the supply was safe.
