Optimism, the Layer 2 (L2) network of the Ethereum ecosystem, announced on January 25th a roadmap aimed at preparing its infrastructure for future risks associated with quantum computing.
This is what I’m thinking about in my plan Gradual changes to wallets, digital signatures on transactions, and critical infrastructurewe have 10 years to abandon potentially vulnerable encryption schemes.
Optimism works through OP Stack, a set of open source tools that allows you to create mutually compatible networks known as superchains.
Scheduled termination of ECDSA account
The highlight of the announcement is the 10-year depreciation process for Externally Owned Accounts (EOAs).
These accounts widely used on Ethereum use ECDSA (Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm) as the cryptographic mechanism to verify transaction signatures.
According to the schedule, these accounts will be registered with ECDSA by January 2036. Signing transactions will no longer be accepted Connect directly to the main network and the Optimism Superchain network.
Migration is supported by account abstraction (Account abstraction,AA), an approach that allows The signing and security logic resides within the smart contract.
As reported by CriptoNoticias, thanks to the EIP-7702 proposal that allows delegation of privileges, users can Can give control of keys to smart accounts compatible with post-quantum signatureswithout losing your address or balance.
According to the Optimism team, with this method, the transaction does not mean changing the wallet or moving funds, but rather updating the way each operation is recorded.
During the coexistence period, transactions signed with ECDSA and post-quantum schemes will coexist until the transition is complete.
Infrastructure and consensus also join the roadmap
Additionally, Optimism plans to replace the ECDSA signatures used by the sequencer (the component that orders and groups transactions in the second layer) and the module that sends batches of data to Ethereum with a scheme that is resistant to quantum attacks.
In parallel, the Optimism team reported that it is in discussions with the Ethereum Foundation (EF) regarding the evolution of the base network.
As reported by CriptoNoticias, in addition to ECDSA, Ethereum relies on verification of the BLS consensus (Boneh-Lynn-Shacham Signatures) and KZG (Kate-Zaverucha-Goldberg) commitments regarding data availability.
These systems are derived from elliptic curve (ECC) signatures and are secure against classical computers.
However, a large-scale quantum computer could theoretically do the following: Breaking that type of code. Although the technology is not yet available, Optimism argues that waiting until the risks are imminent is too late.
Post-quantum schemes still under evaluation
The Optimism report does not specify which post-quantum algorithms will be adopted.
Although the proposal is based on mathematical grids, some of which have been standardized by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the team believes that: It’s too early to make a final choice.
Therefore, the design aims for a compatible scheme that can be updated if security assumptions change.
Finally, the deployment is performed through a coordinated protocol update (hard fork), avoid sudden changes.