StarkWare issues Starknet quantum roadmap; urges action
StarkWare released a three-phase quantum-resistant roadmap for Starknet and urged other blockchains to adopt quantum-safe cryptography without delay.
StarkWare published a three-phase quantum-resistant roadmap for Starknet on Tuesday and argued the industry should not defer migration to quantum-safe cryptography. The company outlined technical changes intended to reduce networks’ exposure to future quantum attacks.
The plan centers on STARK proofs (Scalable Transparent Argument of Knowledge), which StarkWare describes as inherently resistant to known quantum attacks. Eli Ben-Sasson, StarkWare’s CEO, urged other projects to move faster on migration and to stop relying solely on existing elliptic-curve standards.
The first phase calls for immediate cryptographic swaps, including replacing Pedersen hashing with quantum-resistant alternatives and adding quantum-resistant signature schemes. The second phase focuses on developer tooling and migration methods that can upgrade existing smart contracts to the new standards without requiring applications to be rebuilt. The third phase addresses dependencies Starknet cannot change on its own, notably upgrades that depend on Ethereum and coordination across the wider ecosystem.
StarkWare said the roadmap responds to research suggesting cryptographically relevant quantum machines could be available before 2030. The company noted migration involves technical trade-offs, governance decisions and external dependencies, but argued those issues should not delay upgrades.
The announcement noted several projects are working on quantum-proof plans: Ethereum, Solana, Tezos, Algorand and payments firm Circle. Participants in the Bitcoin community remain divided on how to secure long-held coins and whether to coordinate a migration from elliptic-curve cryptography.
Ben-Sasson wrote: “The tried-and-tested cryptography exists to secure every crypto key in the world, if necessary changes are made, and the only reason anyone will remain vulnerable is if heads remain buried in the sand.” He added: “difficulty is not an excuse for delay.”
StarkWare said the roadmap aims to minimize disruption for developers and users while ensuring keys and smart contracts are protected against future quantum threats.
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