Ethereum is targeting a quantum-resistant Layer 1 by December 2029, with the Ethereum Foundation's Protocol cluster laying out a multi-fork roadmap as the Hegotá upgrade enters its scoping phase.
In an assessment published on September 8, roughly 60 researchers, engineers, and domain experts across all nine Protocol teams evaluated 62 proposed Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) for Hegotá. The evaluation produced 397 grades, with contested proposals discussed collectively by core developers.
Quantum Resistance Timeline
The main target is quantum resistance across the execution, consensus, and data layers by December 2029. That deadline aligns with migration targets set by Google, Cloudflare, and Microsoft, though the timing of "Q-day"—when quantum computers could theoretically threaten current cryptography—remains uncertain.
The Ethereum Foundation said the network should prepare for Q-day as early as 2030, while acknowledging that credible estimates generally place it later and it may never occur. The December 2029 deadline will remain "non-negotiable" until at least January 2027, when progress in quantum computing will be reassessed with outside experts.
Upgrade Priorities and Scope
Only two of the 62 proposals received the highest "must ship" grade: FOCIL, which targets transaction inclusion by allowing validators to impose requirements on builders, and Frame Transactions, which enables account abstraction and provides a path toward replacing vulnerable secp256k1 keys.
Fifteen proposals earned A grades and are expected to ship, while eight received B grades and seven received C grades. Twenty-eight proposals were declined, with two left pending until mainnet evidence becomes available.
Beyond FOCIL, there is "little appetite" for additional consensus-layer scope unless a proposal directly supports post-quantum readiness. Limited testing and engineering capacity are major considerations as developers prepare Hegotá and subsequent forks.
Roadmap and Next Steps
Post-quantum security sits alongside privacy, faster finality, state management, and zkEVM development as core focus areas. Under the current roadmap, Glamsterdam is expected in December 2026, with full post-quantum readiness targeted at L*, five forks later. Reaching that target would require an average fork cadence of 7.2 months.
A minimum viable post-quantum milestone at J* could instead be reached with a 12-month cadence, allowing Ethereum to operate through Q-day with reduced guarantees while full resistance across all layers remains the December 2029 objective.
The Protocol cluster has scheduled a Reddit AMA for September 16 at 2 p.m. UTC to discuss its priorities, the Hegotá tier list, and questions from the Ethereum community.
