Coinbase Council: Preparing the Blockchain for the Quantum Era

The Coinbase Independent Quantum Advisory Council has published a blockchain and quantum position paper, detailing the risks that quantum computers pose to cryptographic systems, as well as possible preventive measures ahead of Q-Day.

The board consists of researchers from the Ethereum Foundation, Stanford, UT Austin, Eigen Labs, Bar-Ilan University, and UC Santa Barbara.

The team acknowledges the current absence of a quantum computer, but that its existence may very well be a reality in the next decade.

For this reason, the team urges immediate preparation for quantum threats across all cryptographic ecosystems, including blockchains, exchanges, wallets, and even hardware:

“The time to start preparing is now, not when it’s urgent.”

Quantum risks to crypto

According to the team, cryptocurrencies are unequally vulnerable to quantum-computer breaches, with wallets bearing the greatest risk due to public key exposure. 

While Bitcoin’s infrastructure is touted as “largely safe,” 6.9 million BTC fall in the above-mentioned wallet cohort.

Proof-of-stake chains’ weakness lies in their validator signature schemes, but Ethereum already has a roadmap to eliminate this issue.

Deployment challenges

After two decades of research, the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released several crypto-native quantum-resistant standards.

However, their adoption has proved challenging because quantum-safe signatures are inherently data-intensive. This increases transaction costs, reduces throughput, and demands higher storage.

A greater challenge is coordinating the migration of millions of wallets to quantum-proof systems. 

An even greater challenge is promptly deciding what to do with the assets left behind during an upgrade. Will they be frozen, revoked, or just left at the mercy of quantum computers?

Current developments

At the moment, Bitcoin and Ethereum have proposed quantum-safe upgrades, with the latter’s plan also improving scalability.

Solana, Algorand, and Aptos are offering quantum-resistant options to users, and Layer 2 networks like Optimism have already announced deadlines for these transitions.

Meanwhile, Coinbase is developing flexible systems that can accommodate new cryptographic standards while fostering migration to the post-quantum era.