The Ethereum Foundation will abandon the use of the Poseidon hash function on its Layer 1 architecture. On August 13, researcher Justin Drake confirmed the definitive move toward standard alternatives like SHA-2 or BLAKE for the core network design.
Goodbye, Poseidon!
An epic 8-year, 8-figure rabbit hole in post-quantum cryptography reaches its dream conclusion. The Ethereum Foundation is abandoning Poseidon for L1, pivoting to SHA or BLAKE. This milestone unlocks ultimate security for lean Ethereum and foreshadows a golden…
— Justin Drake (@drakefjustin) August 13, 2026
This technical modification answers an eight-year research effort. The central objective of the core developers is to secure the protocol’s base infrastructure and ensure long-term quantum computers resistance.
Since 2018, the foundation has funded the development of SNARK-friendly hash functions. Poseidon was integrated in 2019 as the dominant standard for these computational operations. However, recent breakthroughs in cryptographic proof systems altered this technological approach.
The technical evolution of SNARK designs demonstrated that specialized hash functions are no longer strictly necessary. Traditional off-the-shelf alternatives now achieve the exact same operational efficiency within these zero-knowledge cryptographic proof environments.
Drake pointed out that the current network focus relies on hash-friendly SNARKs. The transition leverages new proof systems built on binary fields, which interact directly with the bit-level operations of traditional mathematical functions.
Earlier systems relied exclusively on large prime numbers. This specific architecture made the representation of certain on-chain operations extremely expensive. The new approach mitigates computational drain and directly strengthens Ethereum post-quantum security.
The development is supported by specific research published throughout 2023. The Binius papers presented by researchers Benjamin Diamond and Jim Posen, along with the recent Flock model, successfully adapted proof techniques to capture standard hashes efficiently.
These architectures can process approximately 1 million calls per second on conventional hardware like a laptop. This operational speed represents only a 100-fold slowdown compared to native central processing unit calculations.
The abandonment of complex structures also responds to critical vulnerabilities detected in other models. Drake based the decision on the necessity to operate under minimal assumptions, providing the chain with a reliable cryptographic base for decades.
The efficiency of artificial intelligence in cryptoanalysis forced the discarding of higher-risk alternatives. Lattice-based digital signatures, known technically as HAWK, and isogeny-based models like SQIsign exhibited specific structural weaknesses recently.
Both models, evaluated during the National Institute of Standards and Technology Round 3, suffered documented breaches in past weeks. Core developers anticipate that these algorithmic structures will face additional security issues in the short term.
Drake argued that alternative cryptographic approaches also complicate Layer 1 scalability. The use of simpler, time-proven mathematics drastically reduces the attack surface against malicious actors utilizing advanced calculation technology.
Adopting standard hashes eliminates the need to subject Poseidon to years of probative cryptoanalysis. This fundamentally accelerates the official deployment schedule for the upcoming structural updates required on the base chain code.
The Ethereum Foundation’s schedule projects the implementation of a lightweight virtual machine or a production leanVM by 2027. This infrastructure will prepare the computing ground for changes at the consensus and data availability levels of the network.
Comprehensive deployments across the execution and consensus layers are officially scheduled for 2028. This progressive transition will avoid technical interruptions in the operability of smart contracts currently running on the platform.
The technical decision does not declare the immediate obsolescence of Poseidon nor force secondary layer projects to migrate their operations. It remains an exclusive security adjustment for the future Layer 1 network design.
The operational viability of this change will depend on the performance of standard functions under stress. Structural testing will persist as proof systems scale to support the transactional demand of the coming years.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
