Charles Hoskinson says the blockchain industry's quantum computing concerns are overblown. The Cardano founder argues that quantum-resistant cryptography exists but remains impractical due to performance costs and lack of hardware support.
What Happened: Quantum Defense Standards
Hoskinson addressed quantum computing risks during a recent podcast discussion, calling the threat "a big red herring." He explained that blockchains can migrate to quantum-secure systems, but the technology carries steep trade-offs.
"The protocols to do that are about 10 times slower and 10 times more expensive to run," Hoskinson said.
He noted that networks won't voluntarily sacrifice throughput. "I have a thousand transactions a second. Now I'm going to do a hundred transactions a second, but I'm quantum proof. Nobody wants to be that guy."
The industry had to wait for federal standards before implementing solutions.
"We had to wait for the US government to write the standards," Hoskinson said, referencing FIPS 203-206 under NIST's post-quantum cryptography program.
Hardware vendors now have direction to build accelerated silicon for approved algorithms.
Hoskinson said choosing non-standard protocols creates severe performance penalties. "If you pick a non-standard protocol, you're 100 times slower than the hardware accelerated stuff." Cloudflare has already integrated post-quantum key exchange into mainstream traffic.
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Why It Matters: Migration Timing Over Panic
Hoskinson's assessment reflects broader cryptography research consensus. Quantum threats to blockchain signatures exist but remain distant. Researchers view CRQC-level systems as a 2030s development rather than an immediate danger.
The question centers on when to migrate, not whether migration is necessary. "Most smart people think there's a strong possibility we'll have something in the 2030s," Hoskinson said. With NIST standards finalized and hardware roadmaps established, networks are planning rather than panicking.
Premature activation of quantum-safe systems would slow networks, raise transaction costs and fragment developer tooling. Post-quantum migration continues, but cost, latency and ecosystem fragmentation remain barriers for blockchains.
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