Ethereum considers shift to Poseidon hashing before implementing Pectra update

Vitalik Buterin, a co-founder of Ethereum (ETH), has urged researchers to contribute to the Poseidon cryptographic analysis program as Ethereum considers transitioning to the Poseidon hash function to bolster its zk-proof capabilities.

In a recent post on an unspecified platform, Vitalik Buterin called on researchers to take part in the Poseidon cryptographic analysis program. Vitalik is contemplating switching to the Poseidon hash function to enhance its compatibility with zk-provers, which are tools for privately verifying transactions. To aid in this decision, Ethereum is seeking more data about Poseidon's security features and has extended the deadline for applying to the funding program to March 15.

"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."

In November 2022, a proposal called Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 5988 was put forward, suggesting the addition of a precompiled contract to the Ethereum Virtual Machine to implement the Poseidon hash function. The aim was to improve interoperability between the EVM and zero-knowledge rollups.

Since the proposal was introduced, there hasn't been any official implementation or significant update to EIP 5988, but it appears that Ethereum is still seriously considering implementing Poseidon.

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The Poseidon hash function, introduced in 2019, is relatively new compared to established hash functions like SHA-256 and Keccak, which have been in use for decades and have undergone extensive testing. However, SHA-256 or Keccak are not specifically designed for zero-knowledge proofs. In contrast, Poseidon has been specifically created for use in zero-knowledge proofs. Although it hasn't been as extensively tested as SHA-256 and Keccak, Poseidon is already being used in production within layer-2 systems on the Ethereum network and other blockchain projects.

Ethereum's exploration of the Poseidon hash function is part of its broader efforts to improve the network's performance. Most notably, the long-awaited Pectra upgrade will officially launch on April 8, aiming to enhance Ethereum's scalability, improve account abstraction, increase layer-2 efficiency, and boost validator rewards. This upgrade follows the recent Dencun hard fork, which rolled out in March 2024, significantly reducing transaction fees for layer-2 networks.

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