Ethereum Foundation unveils post-quantum team and funding
The Ethereum Foundation has elevated post-quantum security as a long-term priority for the Ethereum (ETH) network, unveiling a dedicated Post-Quantum (PQ) team and committing $2 million in new funding to strengthen core cryptography.
The team will be led by Ethereum Foundation cryptographic engineer Thomas Coratger, with support from Emile, a cryptographer associated with leanVM, according to researcher Justin Drake. In a post on X published Saturday, Drake said that after several years of research and development, the Ethereum Foundation has made PQ security a top strategic objective, noting that timelines are accelerating into 2026.
Drake identified leanVM, a specialized minimalist zero-knowledge proof virtual machine (zkVM), as a key element of Ethereum’s post-quantum roadmap.
EF supports post-quantum initiative with developer sessions and funding
Near-term measures include a biweekly developer series on post-quantum transactions starting next month, led by Ethereum researcher Antonio Sanso. The sessions will focus on user-facing protections such as protocol-level cryptographic tooling, account abstraction approaches, and longer-horizon work on signature aggregation using leanVM.
To support the effort, Drake announced two new funding programs: a $1 million Poseidon Prize to bolster the Poseidon hash function and a $1 million Proximity Prize, both intended to advance post-quantum cryptography.
On the engineering side, Drake said multi-client post-quantum consensus development networks are already operating, with multiple teams collaborating through weekly interoperability calls.
The foundation plans to host a dedicated post-quantum event in October and a post-quantum day in late March ahead of EthCC. Educational initiatives, including video content and enterprise-focused materials, are also in development.
Coinbase establishes advisory board on quantum risks
The Ethereum Foundation’s announcement follows heightened industry focus on quantum risk. On Wednesday, Coinbase said it formed an independent advisory board to evaluate how quantum computing advances could affect the cryptography that secures major blockchain networks, including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum.
According to Coinbase, the board comprises experts from academia and industry in quantum computing, cryptography, and blockchain security. It will publish public research and provide guidance for developers, organizations, and users, with its first position paper expected in early 2027.
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