Ethereum (ETH) Co-founder Vitalik Buterin Announces the Team Is Considering Migrating to the Poseidon Hash Function

The goal is to make zero-knowledge proof systems (zk-provers) work better on the network.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin is inviting researchers to help the blockchain team better understand the security of the Poseidon hash function. The goal is to make zero-knowledge proof systems work better on the network.

The Ethereum Foundation is considering migrating to the Poseidon hash function in a move that aims to optimize the performance of zero-knowledge proof (zk-proof) systems on the blockchain.

Buterin Explains the Importance of Poseidon Cryptanalysis

The goal is to make sure that the network is protected, and that the introduction of Poseidon does not create anyoperability issues or open up the chain to exploits.

"We really need to understand the security of Poseidon before using it. Sadly, despite a lot of effort, we don't yet have a complete picture," Buterin explained in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

He then went on to invite researchers to join the ongoing program for cryptanalyzing Poseidon.

"The Ethereum Foundation is currently running a program to invite researchers to attempt to break or otherwise analyze the стойност на хеш функцията на Poseidon. We've had some interesting results so far, but we'd like to invite more researchers to participate."

The Ethereum team had planned to move the deadline for the program to December 15. However, due to the complexity of the task and the importance of a thorough analysis, they have decided to extend it to March 15, 2025.

The Foundations is hoping that researchers from the International Association for Cryptologic Research (IACR) and the industry will apply to join the program.

Potential Benefits of Poseidon Integration

Integrating Poseidon could optimize Ethereum's zk-prover operations, potentially leading to more efficient and scalable privacy-preserving applications on the network.

However, as Poseidon is a relatively new cryptographic primitive (a low-level cryptographic algorithm used as a basic building block for higher-level cryptographic algorithms), so a deep security analysis is needed.

As such, Buterin's call for extensive cryptanalysis aims to determine if Poseidon satisfies Ethereum's exacting security benchmarks, thus mitigating the risk of network vulnerabilities.

Poseidon and ZKPs: Explained

Developed in 2019, Poseidon is a cryptographic hash function designed for zero-knowledge proof (ZKP) systems.

Unlike standard hash functions like SHA-256 or Keccak, which are optimized for general-purpose cryptography, Poseidon is specifically built for fast calculations in zero-knowledge circuits.

On the other hand, ZKPs allow one party to prove to another that a statement is true without revealing any additional information. Because of this, they are very important for making privacy and scalability better in blockchain applications.

Since it is designed specifically for ZKP systems, Poseidon offers efficient performance within zk-provers due to its algebraic structure, which aligns well with the arithmetic circuits used in these proofs.

This could give Ethereum several advantages, like lower gas fees for zk-rollups, faster proof generation, better privacy for on-chain transactions, and even future compatibility with Ethereum Layer 2 and beyond.

Ethereum: A More Competitive Platform?

There are a lot of technicalities at play here, but the implications for Ethereum could be massive in case the migration takes place.

It could mark a significant upgrade in the efficiency and scalability of ZKPs on the network. As a result, users could experience cheaper transactions, better privacy, and faster rollup finality, making Ethereum more competitive as a global smart contract and privacy platform.