Vitalik Buterin: Account Abstraction Will Shield Users from Quantum Computers

Account abstraction can make users’ accounts quantum-resistant. This was stated by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin during an AMA session.

The event took place on the Warpcast decentralized social network built on the Farcaster protocol. Buterin addressed this platform after the recent SIM-swapping attack on his X account.

He voiced his view in response to a user question regarding the unexpectedly rapid development of quantum computing, which could pose a threat in the hands of bad actors.

He suggested that with the advent of such computers, for existing accounts a hard fork would be necessary. Users would be able to confirm their mnemonic phrase via ZK-STARK technology and recover the EOA-address. According to him, for the level of consensus, developers are exploring various alternatives based on cryptographic solutions such as BLS aggregation or the Verkle tree.

The AMA participants were interested in a wide range of questions to Buterin: from personal preferences to conceptual issues around capitalism.

On the Ethereum-Bitcoin competition, he noted that the two ecosystems use different “sets of technical trade-offs” and cover different domains.

Regarding the seemingly unlaunched blockchain prediction market, Buterin pointed to a new wave of such projects, for example Polymarket. He said the protocol has achieved significantly more progress in blending cryptocurrency aspects with a business model than earlier attempts.

During the conversation, it emerged that Buterin’s favorite cities are Singapore, Taipei, Vienna, Toronto, Ithaca, and New York. He tends to eat twice a day (about every six hours), listens to pop music in Chinese (for example Taiwanese singer Angela Zhang), and has not engaged in any sport for a long time.

In September, Buterin shared his views on the future of Ethereum.