Ethereum L1 to Abandon Poseidon Hash for SHA2 or BLAKE2s
Ethereum Foundation core researcher Justin Drake announced that Ethereum L1 will abandon the Poseidon hash function, which has dominated since 2019, and will instead adopt traditional hash functions such as SHA2 or BLAKE2s.
The shift is due to breakthroughs in SNARK design—focusing on "hash-friendly SNARK" rather than "SNARK-friendly hash." By aligning Boolean operations in traditional hashes with binary field natively, traditional hashes achieve proof performance of 1 million per second with approximately 100 times the overhead in SNARKs.
Drake referred to this as "sci-fi level cryptography" and acknowledged contributions from researchers like Binius and Flock. This move will accelerate deployment without waiting for years of cryptanalysis on Poseidon, with a roadmap pointing to the production-level leanVM and subsequent layer deployment by 2027.
It was also noted that AI-enhanced cryptanalysis is combating Geki and homogenous solutions, with hash-based schemes becoming the winners in post-quantum blockchain signatures.
From a market mechanism perspective, the technical route adjustment strengthens expectations for Ethereum's post-quantum and proof efficiency, with funding and development resources likely shifting towards hash foundations and related zk tools. Beneficiaries will be the Ethereum ecosystem and traditional hash implementations, while those relying on Poseidon will face pressure.
Source: Public Information
ABAB AI Insight
Ethereum has been promoting algebra-friendly hashes like Poseidon since around 2019 to optimize SNARK efficiency, but after years of research, it has reversed course due to breakthroughs in binary field SNARKs, reflecting the dynamic evolution of cryptographic primitives and proof systems.
On the capital path, the foundation is rapidly adjusting foundational assumptions driven by research, motivated by prioritizing security maturity and deployment speed, strategically reducing reliance on long-term analysis of emerging hashes and shifting towards well-validated traditional primitives.
Similar cases can be seen in other blockchains iterating on primitive choices in zk and post-quantum paths, as well as instances where academic breakthroughs directly alter production roadmaps, currently in a phase where hash-based cryptography is regaining dominance due to advancements in proof systems.
The structural judgment indicates a technological substitution: hash-friendly SNARKs are replacing reliance on specialized hashes, with the mechanism converting expensive bit operations into efficient proofs, thereby enhancing performance and deployability while maintaining minimal security assumptions.
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