Ethereum Dumps Millions Into Quantum Resistance—Because Hackers With Quantum Computers Definitely Need More Targets

Ethereum’s core devs just greenlit a multi-million dollar war chest to future-proof the network against quantum attacks. Because nothing says ’long-term planning’ like scrambling to defend against tech that doesn’t exist yet.

The move? A preemptive strike against hypothetical quantum adversaries who might—in some distant, sci-fi future—crack today’s encryption like a walnut. Priorities include upgrading signatures and overhauling key security protocols. Because Wall Street’s blockchain experiments clearly need more existential threats to justify their burn rates.

Meanwhile, traders shrug and keep aping into meme coins. The more things change...

In brief

• Ethereum Foundation distributed $32.6 million in Q1 2025 through its ESP program.
• 32 educational and community projects were supported across several countries around the globe.
• 14 initiatives in ZK and post-quantum cryptography were funded, while Vitalik has already bet on STARKs.

Ethereum: $32 million for projects around the globe

In the first quarter of 2025, the. Itstargeted several priorities, including education, developer tools, and cryptography. Among the, 32 were awarded to educational or community initiatives. Bootcamps, conferences like ETHPrague or ETHiopia, video content, and summer schools are involved. These projects reflect the, notably on a global scale.

Programs have been supported in India, Greece, Japan, and South America. This approach favors.

Among: advanced cryptography, SDK tools, language libraries, and EIP accessibility. These grants show that the Foundation wants to democratize innovation without abandoning technical rigor. And despite a lack of project-by-project financial details, the thematic distribution says a lot about.

Post-quantum security and developer ergonomics at the heart of the agenda

and crypto also receive a large slice of the pie.have been supported, ranging from the development of ZK-proofs to post-quantum cryptography. This is part of a long-term network security strategy. Vitalik Buterin himself reminded us:

I coded quantum-resistant wallets as early as 2017.

His May 2024 tweet goes further. He advocates: STARK infrastructures and signature aggregation. The execution and consensus layers have not been forgotten: seven projects each are dedicated to them.as it evolves towards more scalability.

Only one Layer-2 project was funded: L2 Beats, a data platform on Ethereum sidechains. Theremains a priority, with sixteen projects supporting SDKs, validators, and analytics.

The strategy is clear: to make sureis as.

Ethereum Foundation: new transparency and global strategies in numbers

Overall, the distribution of grants is as follows:

• 32 projects for community and education;
• 16 projects for developer experience;
• 14 projects on cryptography and ZK-proofs;
• 7 for the execution layer, 7 for the consensus layer;
• 9 projects oriented to general support and protocols;
• 13 projects classified “others”: DeFi, stablecoins, DApps, etc.

This transparency is recent: it is the. Buterin encourages it, seeing it as a way to be accountable without heavy bureaucracy. Projects like Amber Group or SunSec have praised this openness. Their contributions to EVM security, for example with Mothra or PebbleDB, have been rewarded.

Behind these numbers emerges, more concerned with building a solid base. Even if some WOULD like to know the amounts allocated to each project, the general direction seems appreciated.

In this dynamic, the Ethereum Foundation is not alone. The Human Rights Foundation also supports crypto, with donations in twenty countries. It makes Bitcoin a lever of emancipation, a tool of hope in fragile contexts. Proof that sometimes, blockchains become more than protocols: they become concrete promises.

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