Ethereum research group Ethlabs has proposed moving the network's target for defending against quantum computers from December 2029 to 2027. The group laid out the plan in a post on the Ethereum Magicians forum on Wednesday.
To hit the earlier date, Ethlabs is pulling a faster-block feature out of the Hegotá upgrade and redirecting that work toward quantum-resistant signing. A new feature called Frame Transactions would let wallet holders switch to such signing and move funds off exposed keys. That switch would not be automatic; holders would need to update their wallet software themselves.
Developers worry a quantum computer powerful enough could work out a wallet's private key from the public key visible on the blockchain and drain its funds. Ethlabs tied the risk to artificial intelligence as well, saying AI is speeding up the hunt for cryptographic weaknesses.
“Being post-quantum is not enough; we intend on being post-AI too,” the group wrote, calling the security of current cryptography itself “an open maths problem.”
The Ethereum Foundation set its December 2029 target in September 2026. Google is aiming for 2029, and the United States this year moved its own deadline for addressing quantum risks to critical infrastructure from 2035 to 2030. “Now is the cheapest time to commit,” Ethlabs said.
Ethlabs was founded by former Ethereum Foundation researchers as a nonprofit research group. The proposal remains under discussion on the Ethereum Magicians forum.
