The Ethereum Foundation has officially elevated post-quantum security to a top strategic priority, announcing the formation of a dedicated internal Post-Quantum (PQ) team. The move, revealed by Ethereum researcher Justin Drake on January 23, 2026, represents a decisive inflection point in the network’s long-term strategy to protect against emerging quantum computing threats. The team is led by cryptography expert Thomas Coratger, joined by key contributors behind LeanVM, described by Drake as a cornerstone of Ethereum’s post-quantum approach.
Quantum computing poses a growing concern for blockchain networks, as current cryptographic standards like elliptic-curve encryption—used by Ethereum and Bitcoin—could eventually be broken by sufficiently powerful quantum machines. The creation of the PQ team signals that Ethereum is taking proactive steps to ensure its protocol remains secure for decades, rather than waiting until the threat becomes immediate.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has been vocal on the urgency of this initiative. He emphasized that the network must be able to operate safely for a hundred years, asserting that early preparation is critical to avoiding a reactive scramble against quantum-enabled attacks. Beginning in February, researcher Antonio Sanso will host biweekly developer calls focused on post-quantum transaction security, covering areas like account abstraction and signature aggregation, which directly impact user-facing security.
The Ethereum Foundation is also incentivizing cryptographic innovation with a $1 million Poseidon Prize, aimed at strengthening the Poseidon hash function widely used in Ethereum applications. This aligns with broader industry trends, as leading exchanges like Coinbase are forming quantum advisory boards to assess how quantum advancements could affect blockchain security and guide long-term cryptographic transitions.
From a market perspective, Ethereum’s move reinforces investor confidence in the network’s resilience. While quantum computing remains a medium-term risk, proactive measures like these signal that Ethereum is positioning itself as a leader in secure blockchain innovation. For developers and enterprises building on Ethereum, the PQ initiative provides a roadmap for future-proofing applications and protocols against potential quantum threats.
As Ethereum accelerates its post-quantum roadmap, the broader takeaway for the crypto ecosystem is clear: quantum computing is no longer a distant theoretical concern, and networks that invest early in advanced cryptography will be best positioned to maintain trust and stability in a rapidly evolving technological landscape.
