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Aztec Post-Quantum Roadmap
Aztec Network targets hardened privacy libraries by February 2027 and a full post-quantum migration by 2030.
Happy Thursday, October 15, 2026.
Aztec Network releases its post-quantum roadmap. Safe introduces the Safenet Aegis security protocol. Network School acquires Farcaster. And Lido launches direct staking.
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Aztec Post-Quantum Roadmap
Aztec Network, a privacy-focused Layer 2 built on Ethereum, released its roadmap for expanding its post-quantum security with plans for a full migration by 2030. The network will also move to hardened libraries and safer contract-development patterns by February 2027. Aztec says its design already protects historical state and encrypted logs against “harvest now, decrypt later” style attacks.
A full post-quantum migration will require changes to application encryption, the proving system, account keys and authentication, validator signatures, and Ethereum settlement. Aztec’s roadmap notes that its work depends partly on Ethereum’s cryptographic upgrades. Aztec is evaluating hash-based proving systems over binary or small prime fields, lattice-based systems, and hybrid approaches.
Aztec will choose a post-quantum signature scheme by March 2027, an encryption scheme by July 2027, and a proving system by November 2027. Aztec is also exploring a canonical keystore registry to move keys out of addresses, and says it will likely replace Poseidon2 over the longer term.
Safenet Aegis Security Protocol
Safe, the largest smart contract wallet provider, launched Safenet Aegis, a transaction security protocol. The release allows users to have their transactions assessed by Independent Sentinels, such as BlockSec and OpenCover, who screen transactions against the Safenet Charter and bond their verdicts, which are combined into a secure, insecure, or disputed result.
Validators verify checks and attest the result onchain. An optional Safenet Guard can require a valid attestation for the exact transaction before execution, with a delayed escape hatch. Each check costs 0.40 USDC, paid to the Sentinels. Sentinels post a slashable bond and validators stake at least 3.5 million SAFE tokens. The protocol is now live across Ethereum mainnet, Arbitrum, and Gnosis Chain.
Network School Acquires Farcaster
Network School, the experimental residential startup society founded by Balaji Srinivasan, has acquired Farcaster from Neynar. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. The main Farcaster client is being rebranded as the Network State Protocol. The main client is becoming an opt-in community governed by a Singapore-like conduct code. Users must sign a social smart contract and adhere to the app’s new rules set by the Network School core team in order to gain write access on the app.
The Network Code, as described by Network School, prohibits hate speech, threats, scams, spam, malware, NSFW material and undisclosed AI content. The team says it will use AI-assisted moderation. Some users have reported being retroactively banned under the new rules, which are applied to both past and new posts. Users who vote to decline or choose “not now” can access their account in read-only mode. The Farcaster protocol will remain open with third-party clients such as Firefly available.
Lido Launches Direct Staking
Lido Finance launched direct ETH staking through the Lido UI. The feature allows users to stake ETH on Lido from Arbitrum, Base, Linea and Optimism. The integration uses Chainlink CCIP to handle the cross-chain transfer without requiring users to bridge manually. On each L2, ETH is swapped for wstETH from a dedicated pool using a Chainlink price feed. In the backend, the ETH is bridged to Ethereum L1 and staked through Lido, with the resulting wstETH returned to replenish the pool.
Misc News
Ledger introduces Atom, a mobile phone-like hardware wallet device with 5G connectivity and AI agent controls, being coined as quantum-ready. Ledger Atom is being sold for $849 and will ship in mid 2027.
Forkcast shares ACDC #189 summary with four more EIPs denied for Hegota. Compound Finance goes live on the Safe app store. Mastercard introduces the Global Money Platform. And Fhenix plans to launch its mainnet on October 21.
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