Ethereum sets a 2029 deadline for quantum readiness, with Hegotá as the first critical test
Ethereum Foundation protocol researchers have put December 2029 on the calendar as the target for full post-quantum readiness across Ethereum’s execution, consensus, and data layers, using a conservative planning assumption that a realistic "Q-day" could arrive as early as 2030. The first major checkpoint is not a post-quantum fork itself, but Hegotá, a precursor upgrade that will determine whether the later roadmap can stay on schedule. Under the current baseline, Glamsterdam is aimed at mainnet in December 2026, followed by Hegotá and then I*, J*, K*, and L* over a compressed three-year stretch. Of Hegotá’s 62 candidate proposals, only two are ranked S-tier: EIP-7805 FOCIL, which adds validator-enforced inclusion constraints for eligible transactions, and EIP-8141 Frame Transactions, which introduces more programmable transaction validation, execution, and gas payment at the protocol level. A set of A-tier proposals would also shape account security, migration away from older cryptographic assumptions, execution proofs, and resource pricing. The broader point is timing: Hegotá is being treated as the first engineering exam in Ethereum’s race to prepare for a quantum threat that may still be years away, but cannot be addressed at the last minute.
