Why Ethereum Is Racing Ahead of Bitcoin on Quantum Security

[mendez]

Ethereum is moving faster than Bitcoin to prepare for quantum computing, and researchers say that urgency is driven by risk exposure.

While Bitcoin leaders have largely downplayed the threat, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has warned there’s a 20% chance quantum computers could break cryptography as early as 2030. Most Ether and all of Solana are currently vulnerable to such attacks, compared with a smaller portion of Bitcoin held in older addresses.

Ethereum’s solution is more complex, involving post-quantum signatures, account abstraction and zero-knowledge proofs to manage significantly larger cryptographic signatures. Researchers are also working on emergency upgrade plans that would allow ETH holders to prove ownership and migrate funds in the event of an early quantum breakthrough.

According to Sanso, Lean Ethereum — a broader redesign aimed at speed, simplicity and decentralization — is expected to be completed between 2028 and 2032, with quantum resistance built in from the ground up.