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Ethlabs, a nonprofit Ethereum research group, wants the network to reach an initial level of quantum-resistant security during 2027, two years ahead of the Ethereum Foundation’s current schedule, according to crypto.news. The group published its plan, called pqai27, on the Ethereum Magicians forum on November 11, 2026.
The proposal argues that advances in artificial intelligence could expose weaknesses in cryptography and network software sooner than expected. Ethereum’s core developers have not agreed to the 2027 timeframe, and adopting it would change the order of features already planned for upcoming forks.
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Key facts
- The Ethereum Foundation’s published roadmap currently targets December 2029 for quantum resistance across the network’s execution, consensus and data layers, and it plans to reassess the risks with outside experts in January 2027.
- Ethlabs said it will pull its Quick Slots proposal, which was meant to shorten the interval between Ethereum blocks, from the Hegotá upgrade and redirect that work toward security.
- The plan sets two stages for 2027: pqai-ready, with quantum-resistant consensus and a way for users to protect accounts, and pqai-scaled, which would add quantum-resistant transactions and data processing at full network capacity.
- Ethlabs cited Google’s plan to complete its post-quantum transition by 2029 and changes in US government quantum planning, and said researchers cannot establish when AI might threaten existing cryptography.
Why Ethlabs wants to move faster
The group framed the change as a response to uncertainty rather than to a single demonstrated threat. It pointed to AI research involving mathematics and software vulnerabilities, and argued that the difficulty of predicting when such risks arrive makes early preparation worthwhile. Its proposal described the network’s target as being “post-quantum” and “post-AI.”
To get there, Ethlabs said it would rely on formal verification, a way of mathematically checking that code behaves as intended, and on Ethereum’s client diversity. Blockonomi reported that Ethlabs also cited AI solving hundreds of open math problems and finding about 1,000 vulnerabilities in Linux, and that the group described the security of cryptography as itself an open maths problem. Blockonomi also reported that Ethlabs was founded by former Ethereum Foundation researchers and launched earlier this year as a nonprofit focused on research and development.
Also readEthereum Glamsterdam Nears First Public Test: Sepolia Set for Oct. 6
Ethlabs argued that committing now is cheaper than changing course later. In its proposal it wrote that a pivot once the team is deep into shipping the currently planned fork would be far more costly.
Reviews start with Quick Slots
The Hegotá upgrade, scheduled after Glamsterdam, is where the plan meets existing work. Ethlabs said it backed faster block production because its survey showed clear community demand, but that it will withdraw Quick Slots from Hegotá anyway and intends to pursue the improvement in 2028. “We don’t take this decision lightly,” the group wrote, according to both reports.
Other features are being weighed rather than dropped. Ethlabs said FOCIL, aimed at stopping block producers from excluding valid transactions, should be scheduled only if it does not interfere with the proposed deadline. Frame Transactions, known as EIP-8141, would stay a priority because it could help accounts adopt alternative signature methods, including ones designed to resist quantum attacks. The group said Glamsterdam should proceed as planned.
Full capacity would also depend on changes to how validators agree on transactions. Ethlabs identified two routes: modifying the existing Gasper consensus system or adopting a newer design called decoupled consensus, and said more work is needed to judge which is easier. It named EIP-8288, on signature aggregation, and EIP-8479, on quantum-resistant data availability, as necessary for the scaled stage. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has previously backed EIP-8288 as a way to verify complex signatures efficiently.
Why it matters
The proposal sets Ethlabs against the Ethereum Foundation’s own published protocol priorities, which place full quantum resistance in 2029. For wallet providers and validator operators, the practical question is when they should begin migrating to quantum-resistant keys; Ethlabs suggested tools such as key rotation, separate recovery permissions and tighter account access controls. If old protections became vulnerable, the network could keep running at reduced capacity under the first stage.
What to watch
The Ethereum Foundation’s planned reassessment of quantum risk with outside experts in January 2027 is the next scheduled checkpoint. Before that, developer discussion over Hegotá’s feature list will show whether the 2027 target gains backing from core developers.
Sources: crypto.news, Blockonomi
