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- Coinbase’s quantum advisory says proof-of-stake blockchains such as Ethereum and Solana could face added exposure if future quantum computers break current encryption.
- The report argues that validator signatures and wallet cryptography may both become vulnerable, putting long-term blockchain security under renewed scrutiny.
Coinbase is adding its voice to the growing quantum debate, and this time the warning lands directly on proof-of-stake networks.
A report released Tuesday by the exchange’s Independent Advisory Board on Quantum Computing and Blockchain said blockchains such as Ethereum and Solana could face greater exposure to future quantum attacks because the validator signatures that secure those systems rely on cryptographic methods that a sufficiently powerful quantum computer might eventually break.
Validator signatures are now part of the quantum conversation
That is an important shift in emphasis. Most quantum-risk discussions in crypto tend to focus first on wallets and private keys. Coinbase’s report does not ignore that, but it broadens the frame. In proof-of-stake systems, the security model depends not only on user accounts, but also on validators continuously signing messages to keep the network running.
If those signatures were ever compromised, the implications would go beyond individual theft. They could reach into the integrity of consensus itself.
The report does not suggest this is an immediate operational threat. That part is worth keeping clear. The point is more that the timeline is no longer comfortably abstract, and networks with long-lived value locked into existing cryptographic assumptions may need to plan earlier than they once expected.
Coinbase flags a challenge that touches the whole stack
The advisory says the issue spans both validator infrastructure and wallet cryptography, which means the quantum problem is not confined to one corner of blockchain architecture. It touches how users hold assets, how transactions are signed, and how networks verify and finalize state.
That leaves proof-of-stake chains with a particularly broad planning burden. They may need to think not only about helping users migrate to post-quantum security models, but also about how validators themselves would transition without disrupting performance or trust assumptions.
For Coinbase, the report appears aimed less at alarm than at preparation. But the subtext is fairly plain. If future quantum machines are able to break the cryptography blockchains rely on today, then the question is no longer whether major networks should plan for that possibility. It is how early they can do so without waiting for the threat to become urgent.
