A group of Ethereum researchers is prepared to give up faster block times next year in exchange for moving the blockchain's quantum defense timeline up by 12 months.
The research group Ethlabs pulled its faster-block proposal from the planned 2027 Hegotá upgrade in a Wednesday post on Ethereum Magicians, a forum for improving the protocol. It urged core developers to set other features aside and secure post-quantum protection ahead of the current 2028 target.
The schedule overhaul is still a proposal and has not been written into Ethereum's roadmap.
The push addresses a basic weakness affecting anyone holding ether ($ETH2,019.70), stablecoins or other tokens on the network. Ethereum wallets rely on private digital signatures, called keys, to prove their owners approved transactions. A public version of each key is visible in the blockchain record, and a sufficiently powerful quantum computer could, in theory, work out the secret key and empty the account.
The Ethereum Foundation's quantum research team says such a machine is not imminent, but replacing the cryptography behind wallets, apps and validator nodes takes years. In September, the foundation's protocol team set a December 2029 target.
Ethlabs says that target has since shifted to 2028, and now argues developers should aim for 2027.
The researchers pointed to growing risks from AI-driven automated bug hunting and the slim chance of an AI-led mathematical breakthrough that could weaken current cryptographic assumptions, while conceding that nobody knows whether such a break exists.
Read More: Ethereum developers propose first step to protect $ETH staking from quantum attacks
What the researchers propose
To meet a 2027 deadline, Ethlabs wants Hegotá built around Frame Transactions, an upgrade already in the plans that lets accounts choose how they approve payments, including with quantum-resistant signatures, and swap out exposed keys natively.
Shipping the code would not automatically protect existing accounts. Wallet software would need to support the changes, and holders would still have to move to quantum-resistant signing methods.
Ethlabs is also asking developers to delay the timing of FOCIL, a planned Hegotá feature that would let validators insist on including valid transactions, making it harder for block builders to censor particular users.
AI is adding to Ethlabs' sense of urgency. The group wants stronger defenses against automated bug hunting and cryptography built on fewer assumptions. It also considers the possibility of an AI-led mathematical breakthrough, while acknowledging that nobody knows whether such a break exists.
The proposal comes as Bitcoin developers face a similar migration problem. A draft proposal would eventually restrict older signing methods, encouraging holders to switch before an attacker could exploit them.
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