Ethereum is poised to introduce post-quantum protections for accounts at a minimal cost of $0.07, according to Nicolas Consigny, the lead on the Kohaku project from the Ethereum Foundation. This initiative, outlined in a recent proposal, leverages the SPHINCS+ standard developed by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology to enhance efficiency without necessitating a hard fork.
The SPHINCS- proposal aims to lower the expenses associated with on-chain signature verification, providing a proactive measure against potential threats from quantum computing. This approach does not require any protocol modifications and serves as a preliminary step towards a more advanced system known as “leanSPHINCS,” which intends to further minimize verification costs through aggregation.
As concerns about quantum computing grow, the crypto community is increasingly focused on safeguarding their assets. Notably, a recent study highlighted that approximately 1.92 million Bitcoin, or nearly 10% of its total supply, are seen as vulnerable in a future quantum scenario, emphasizing the urgency for protective measures across various cryptocurrencies.