Rebeca Moen
Aug 21, 2026 21:17
Ethereum’s better.codes aims to strengthen post-quantum SNARKs with a collaborative AI-powered research challenge. Here’s why it matters.
The Ethereum Foundation has launched better.codes, a collaborative AI-driven research platform designed to raise the security benchmarks of hash-based SNARKs. This initiative, part of Ethereum’s broader post-quantum cryptography roadmap, focuses on improving machine-verified security for koalaIRS12—a Reed–Solomon proximity problem critical to modern cryptographic proof systems.
The better.codes challenge, developed in partnership with Yukon and zkSecurity, enables researchers to deploy AI agents to refine the “soundness bound” of koalaIRS12 proofs. These proofs are validated using the Lean kernel, ensuring rigorous, machine-checked security. Participants contribute incrementally, with accepted submissions credited to both the solver and the AI models used, fostering open collaboration and transparency.
Why This Matters for Ethereum
Ethereum’s transition to post-quantum cryptography is not just theoretical. The blockchain’s current reliance on elliptic-curve-based cryptographic primitives—used in transaction signatures, consensus mechanisms, and zero-knowledge proofs—makes it potentially vulnerable to future quantum computing advances. Shor’s algorithm, when implemented on a sufficiently powerful quantum computer, could compromise these systems.
To mitigate this, Ethereum has prioritized exploring quantum-resistant alternatives like hash-based SNARKs and STARKs, which leverage hash functions rather than elliptic-curve discrete logarithms. The better.codes initiative directly supports this shift by addressing the gap between conjectured and proven security guarantees for Reed–Solomon proximity codes, which underpin many existing SNARK systems.
Building Toward 128-Bit Security
The better.codes platform specifically targets a 128-bit security benchmark for koalaIRS12, which aligns with Ethereum’s long-term goal of ensuring robust post-quantum defenses. This work stems from the Proximity Prize initiative, launched earlier this year with a $1 million research fund to tackle open problems in list decoding and correlated agreement. By formalizing these challenges in Lean 4, Ethereum aims to standardize and accelerate cryptographic advancements.
Market Implications
While the better.codes project doesn’t have immediate price implications for ETH (currently trading at $1,624.95 as of August 21, 2026), its long-term impact on the blockchain’s security infrastructure is substantial. Post-quantum cryptography is a key pillar of Ethereum’s roadmap, as evidenced by recent initiatives like Vitalik Buterin’s proposals to adopt recursive STARK proofs and the formation of a dedicated post-quantum security team earlier this year.
For traders and developers, these advancements signal Ethereum’s commitment to future-proofing its protocol. As the blockchain ecosystem increasingly relies on SNARKs for rollups, zkVMs, and other scaling solutions, ensuring their quantum resistance will be crucial to maintaining trust and functionality in a post-quantum world.
What’s Next
The better.codes challenge is just the beginning. The Ethereum Foundation plans to expand the platform with additional challenges over time, governed by program terms that include eligibility, evaluation, and awards. For now, participants can sign in via GitHub, clone the repository, and contribute to advancing koalaIRS12 toward the 128-bit security target.
As Ethereum continues its push toward quantum-resistant cryptography, better.codes represents a pivotal step in bridging theoretical research with practical implementation. Interested researchers and developers can get started at better.codes.
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