Post-quantum security can be implemented at such a low cost, the wallet team probably needs to get competitive. Running on the user side first is much more reliable than waiting for a hard fork.

CryptoWorld News reports that Ethereum researcher N, in an early release, stated that users can add post-quantum risk protection to Ethereum accounts at a cost of about $0.07, without waiting for a hard fork. In a post from June 2026, he mentioned that Ethereum accounts can start preparing for the post-quantum world. The proposal points to account-level protection rather than a full-chain upgrade, allowing users or wallet teams to add protection through smart contract logic, while Ethereum developers continue to work on long-term protocol changes. N's early release research also describes sphincs-, a stateless post-quantum signature scheme optimized for Ethereum, aimed at reducing on-chain verification costs. This design allows Ethereum to perform verification without using precompiles or changing rules. N's early release also mentioned that the current design has passed preliminary review, with more audits to follow.