Casper unveils Manifest: EVM, X402 micropayments, quantum keys

The Casper Association unveiled the Casper Manifest at the Digital Finance Forum in Bermuda on May 12. The multi-year technical roadmap lays out steps to add full Ethereum Virtual Machine compatibility, roll out X402 micropayments for machine-to-machine payments and introduce quantum-safe public-key algorithms by 2027.

The roadmap will add an EVM alongside Casper’s existing WebAssembly execution environment so Ethereum-based contracts and developer tools such as Solidity and MetaMask can run on the network without modification. The association used the phrase “one chain, two execution environments, zero fragmentation” to describe supporting both runtimes.

Casper aims to support regulated tokenization of real-world assets. The association cited an estimated $16 trillion market for tokenized real-world assets and said the roadmap will align protocol features with the ERC-3643 standard, a compliance framework currently governing about $28 billion in on-chain assets.

X402 is described as an open payment standard designed to enable programmatic micropayments over HTTP. The protocol will let software agents and machines pay for data queries or compute resources in stablecoins without human intervention. Network accounts will include built-in spending limits and permission controls to manage automated payments.

The Manifest includes a plan to add quantum-resistant public-key algorithms in 2027. The network already supports classical key schemes such as Ed25519 and secp256k1 in production. The association plans to run quantum-safe algorithms alongside existing schemes to give users a migration path.

Michael Steuer, president and chief technology officer of the Casper Association, presented the roadmap at the forum and described the project as focused on practical infrastructure to onboard large volumes of assets and machines. He told attendees, “For users, blockchain should be invisible. One tap. Done.” He also noted that Casper’s design has supported multiple key algorithms since launch and that the association expects quantum resilience to become standard in blockchain infrastructure.

The association said the roadmap will be implemented in phases through 2027. Initial releases include the X402 micropayments system within weeks, followed by EVM compatibility and compliant security token support later in 2026. Features addressing transaction privacy and the final rollout of quantum-safe algorithms are scheduled for completion by 2027.

Casper released a network upgrade called Casper 2.0 in mid-2025, which added deterministic finality and a multi-VM execution layer. The association said that upgrade provides the technical foundation for the Manifest’s multi-environment and institutional features.