Hoskinson warns against rushing post-quantum upgrades; urges benchmark-led timing
Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson warned developers against hastily adopting post-quantum cryptography (PQC), saying premature upgrades could sharply reduce blockchain throughput, increase proof sizes and raise costs for users and validators. He noted NIST published PQC standards in 2024 but argued that deploying them before validator hardware and ecosystems are ready would be costly and could harm finality and performance. Hoskinson recommends a staged, benchmark-led approach — monitoring independent measures such as DARPA’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative (targeting a 2033 feasibility decision) and NIST/DARPA objective metrics — before network-wide protocol changes. He contrasted two principal approaches: hash-based signatures (favoured by some projects for signatures) and lattice-based schemes (Cardano’s preference), noting lattice methods can better leverage existing GPU/AI infrastructure. For traders, the key takeaways are the potential for significant protocol upgrade costs and performance impacts if networks rush PQC, plus a lower near-term probability of immediate disruptive changes to Cardano (ADA) while the project advocates measured, hardware-aligned deployment.
Neutral
The news is primarily technical and risk-management guidance rather than an announcement of immediate protocol changes. Hoskinson’s warning that premature PQC deployment could harm throughput and increase costs creates awareness of potential future upgrade risk for Cardano (ADA), which could be bearish if rushed. However, his recommendation to wait for independent benchmarks (NIST/DARPA) and to adopt staged upgrades reduces the chance of sudden, disruptive protocol changes. Cardano’s preference for lattice-based approaches and the emphasis on hardware readiness suggest a deliberate, measured path that limits near-term market impact. Short-term: likely neutral — traders should not expect immediate protocol shocks to ADA. Long-term: mixed — if PQC implementation is delayed until hardware is ready, negative performance risks are mitigated; conversely, if other projects rush changes, sectoral volatility could rise. Overall, the statement reduces tail-risk by favoring benchmark-led timing, which tempers immediate price reaction but highlights a medium-term technical risk to monitor.