On June 1, 2026, Ethereum researchers Thomas Coratger, Justin Drake, and others published a new proposal on the Ethereum Research forum, recommending the creation of a dedicated XMSS public key registry. This proposal is considered the first concrete protocol upgrade aimed at migrating Ethereum to post-quantum cryptography, representing a significant step toward defending against future quantum computer attacks.
Under the proposal, the registry would allow approximately 1 million Ethereum validators to pre-register quantum-safe public keys based on the XMSS algorithm before the existing BLS signature system undergoes a full switch. This design is characterized as a crucial "warm-up phase," with the core objective of minimizing the impact on network stability during the subsequent large-scale transition without disrupting normal operations.
Notably, the proposal has already been officially included in the Ethereum Foundation Protocol Team's Strawmap roadmap, becoming the first protocol fork on that roadmap. This marks substantial progress in Ethereum's engineering path toward tackling quantum computing threats, while also laying the first foundation stone for the broader post-quantum cryptography migration plan.