Vitalik: Ethereum Must Prepare Now for Quantum Computing Threat
On Jan. 12, 2026, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin warned that the network should be robust enough to operate for decades without continual upgrades and resilient against future quantum computers. He called on protocol designers and client teams to prioritize long-term stability and begin work on integrating quantum-resistant cryptographic primitives where practical, arguing that proactive planning will reduce future disruption.
The point matters because a sufficiently advanced quantum computer could undermine the elliptic-curve signatures that secure wallets and transactions, posing risks to long-lived smart contracts, staking and DeFi. Preparing now through research, standards, cryptographic agility and clear migration paths could protect users and avoid emergency hard forks. For ETH holders and developers, Buterin’s comments push quantum-resilience higher on the roadmap as quantum hardware progresses.