Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin offers advice for dealing with the quantum emergency

In the March 9th edition of Ethereum Research, Buterin proposed a simple solution through a blockchain hard fork and the introduction of new transaction types.

Discussing a “quantum emergency” that is hypothesized to occur as early as tomorrow, Buterin analyzed the possible impact of such an event and summarized Ethereum’s readiness to meet the challenge.

Protect against possible threats

Buterin said in a hypothetical scenario: "Suppose it is announced tomorrow that quantum computers are available and bad actors can access and use them to steal users' assets."

Buterin believes that Ethereum is currently well-positioned to effectively resist potential quantum computing attacks. He proposed a simple solution involving a hard fork of the blockchain and the introduction of new transaction types.

Buterin explained, briefly describing the recovery process in the face of quantum threats: "The blockchain will need to be hard forked and users will need to download new wallet software, however few users will be lost as a result. funds."

He pointed out that the main challenge facing quantum computers is its impact on cryptographic systems such as Ethereum addresses. These addresses are derived from the private key through elliptic curve multiplication. Quantum computers could upend this process, rendering elliptic curve encryption insecure. But even so, hash functions like Ethereum’s keccak remain secure.

Resistant Quantum Computing Transaction易

Buterin detailed Ethereum developers’ plans to introduce a new transaction type as part of the RIP-7560 protocol, making it possible to conduct transactions from smart contract wallets. When quantum computing threatens security, an Ethereum wallet transaction could expose a user's private and public keys.

The type of transactions proposed as part of the Quantum Resistant EIP will transition existing wallets to the new verification code using Winternitz signatures and STARKs. The code is based on the ERC-4337 account abstraction, the core technology of smart contract wallets, and is designed to prevent the exposure of private keys during transactions and make these accounts resistant to quantum attacks.

Buterin also assured users that those who have never approved transactions from an Ethereum wallet are already protected from potential quantum attacks because only the wallet address is public. Furthermore, he emphasized that development of the infrastructure required to implement such a hard fork can begin immediately.

The introduction of quantum computing has long been a focus for the cryptocurrency industry as it threatens blockchain cryptographic security. However, many experts, including Google and IBM, predict that widespread quantum computing capabilities will not be available until at least 2029.

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