Ethereum is officially going post-quantum.

The Ethereum Foundation has launched a dedicated PQ security team, elevating quantum resistance to a top strategic priority. After years of quiet research, this marks the shift to full-scale execution, according to senior researcher Justin Drake.

The initiative is led by cryptographic engineer Thomas Coratger, with support from leanVM contributor Emile. At the core is leanVM — a minimalist ZK virtual machine built around quantum-resistant, hash-based signatures. This is the backbone of Ethereum’s PQ roadmap.

To accelerate progress, the Foundation announced a $1M Poseidon Prize to harden a critical hash function used across Ethereum’s ZK stack, on top of the previously announced $1M Proximity Prize for broader post-quantum research.

On the ground, multi-client PQ consensus devnets are already live. Lighthouse and Grandine are running, with Prysm expected to join soon. Bi-weekly developer calls on PQ transactions begin next month, followed by community events later this year.

This comes as quantum risk moves from theory to planning across the industry. Coinbase has formed a quantum advisory board including Drake, Dan Boneh, and Scott Aaronson. Vitalik has been clear: quantum resistance is non-optional for Ethereum’s future, and there’s a real chance powerful quantum machines arrive before 2030.

This isn’t speculation anymore.

It’s pre-emptive infrastructure.