“Abandon All Hope”: Solana Founder’s Warning About Ethereum L2s and Quantum Risk

TLDR

• Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko warned that Ethereum Layer 2 networks are not quantum safe
• Yakovenko says AI could break post-quantum cryptography schemes before the industry is ready
• He recommends two-of-three multisig setups across independent signature schemes as a defense
• Solana is moving toward Falcon-512 post-quantum cryptography for new accounts
• Galaxy Digital’s Alex Thorn says a growing consensus exists to leave Satoshi’s Bitcoin untouched

Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko issued a stark warning about quantum computing risks in crypto. His comments covered Ethereum Layer 2 networks, post-quantum cryptography, and the role of AI in future attacks.

Ethereum Layer 2 networks like Arbitrum, Optimism, Base, and zkSync still rely on the Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm. This system uses the secp256k1 curve, which quantum computers could eventually break.

When a transaction is broadcast, the sender’s public key becomes visible on-chain. A powerful enough quantum computer could use that data to reverse-engineer private keys and access funds.

Zero-knowledge systems used in rollups also face theoretical risks. Technologies like Groth16 and Plonk, used in zkEVM designs, rely on elliptic-curve pairings that advanced quantum systems could undermine.

Solana’s Quantum Defense Plan

Solana is moving forward with Falcon-512, a signature scheme designed to resist quantum attacks. Solana clients Anza and Firedancer are both working toward deploying these protections.

New accounts on Solana are expected to adopt Falcon-512 first. Migration paths for existing wallets are also being developed, though no urgent network disruption is planned.

Yakovenko went further, warning that AI poses an additional near-term threat. He said AI could break post-quantum cryptography schemes before the crypto industry has properly hardened them.

His proposed solution is two-of-three multisig, combining multiple signature schemes natively in Solana’s transaction processor through Program Derived Addresses.

Curve Finance founder Michael Egorov asked whether formal verification could address weaknesses. Yakovenko said verification only helps when developers already know what to verify.

Bitcoin’s Quantum Question

On the Bitcoin side, Galaxy Digital’s Alex Thorn reported a growing consensus forming around Satoshi Nakamoto’s estimated 1.1 million Bitcoin.

Those coins sit across roughly 22,000 P2PK addresses of 50 Bitcoin each. Thorn said any quantum attack would need to crack each address separately, not all at once.

He noted that Bitcoin markets regularly absorb over one million Bitcoin in selling pressure. That suggests the network could handle a worst-case scenario without core property rights being compromised.

Elsewhere, Cardano and Algorand are pursuing their own post-quantum research. Ripple has pledged to make the token quantum proof by 2028. Bitcoin remains at an earlier stage of post-quantum planning.

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