On August 26, Ethereum researchers proposed a draft to rebuild the validator deposit contract in preparation for the future introduction of quantum-resistant signature mechanisms, allowing for a gradual phase-out of the existing BLS signature format. This proposal enables the deposit contract to support keys of different sizes and public key types, assigning labels for each cryptographic scheme, with the current BLS signature labeled as 0 and potential future quantum-resistant schemes receiving new labels. Currently, approximately 42.4 million ETH, worth around $10.4 billion, are staked in Ethereum, all relying on BLS validator keys. This draft is still in its early stages and must be implemented alongside subsequent consensus layer upgrades, with the Ethereum Foundation's overall quantum resistance roadmap targeting around 2029.
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