Ethereum cofounder Vitalik Buterin has made a notable call to developers regarding Poseidon, a cryptographic hash function. In an update shared on X, Buterin encouraged researchers to participate in the Poseidon cryptanalysis program, which has now been extended to March 15, 2025.
Why Ethereum is considering Poseidon hash
Notably, the call has become necessary as Ethereum is considering adopting the Poseidon hash function. The aim is to improve zero-knowledge (zk) proof efficiency.
For context, Poseidon is unlike traditional hash functions like SHA-256 or Keccak, which is Ethereum’s default. The Poseidon hash has been optimized for arithmetic circuits, making it more efficient for ZKP applications.
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Poseidon’s efficiency lies in its design, which reduces the computational overhead in environments like SNARKs or STARKs. Proving the correctness of a hash computation is usually a bottleneck in these applications.
Highly encourage researchers to participate in the Poseidon cryptanalysis program.
We are seriously considering migrating Ethereum to the Poseidon hash to optimize zk-prover friendliness, so having more information about its security properties is extremely high value. https://t.co/AhbV8abD4z
Ethereum’s interest in migrating to Poseidon is to make zk proofs more efficient and faster. Zk-proofs are crucial to Ethereum’s scalability and privacy improvements.
Hence, Vitalik invited researchers and cryptographers to analyze Poseidon’s security before its adoption. This is part of his ongoing upgrade plans for Ethereum.
"So having more information about its security properties is extremely valuable," Buterin stated.
What’s next for Ethereum and Poseidon?
The goal is to ensure Poseidon's safety against attacks from malicious actors, such as the recent Bybit hack, which lost over $1.46 billion. Hence, cryptographers would certify a Poseidon hash before integrating it into Ethereum’s infrastructure.
The cryptocurrency ecosystem has become more concerned about security, as it is now obvious that hackers are getting more sophisticated in their attacks.
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Meanwhile, proposals are being made to improve Poseidon's functionality by adding it as a precompiled contract in the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).
However, this proposal is still in the draft stage and not implemented, as it has not been subjected to "battle tests" like traditional hashes. It might gain adoption once it is proven that it can pass security tests.
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