The Ethereum Foundation has officially decided to pivot its cryptographic strategy for Layer 1 (L1), moving away from the Poseidon hash function in favor of more traditional alternatives. According to an announcement by researcher Justin Drake on August 13, 2026, the foundation will now prioritize the integration of SHA or BLAKE families for core protocol operations. This shift marks a significant change in direction for the ecosystem's long-term research into Zero-Knowledge (ZK) primitives.
Transition from SNARK-Friendly Hash Functions
Since 2018, the Ethereum Foundation has heavily invested in the development and implementation of SNARK-friendly hashes. These specialized functions were designed to minimize the computational overhead within Zero-Knowledge proofs, making them more efficient for privacy and scaling solutions.
The Poseidon hash, which emerged in 2019, quickly became the industry standard for these purposes. Its adoption was widespread across various sectors of the blockchain industry:
- Integration into numerous zkRollups to enhance transaction throughput.
- Utilization within zkVMs (Zero-Knowledge Virtual Machines) to facilitate private smart contract execution.
- Research applications in decentralized identity and secure multi-party computation.
Prioritizing Security and Standardized Cryptography
The move toward SHA (Secure Hash Algorithm) and BLAKE represents a return to "traditional" cryptographic standards that have undergone decades of rigorous peer review and cryptanalysis. While Poseidon offered efficiency gains for specific ZK circuits, the decision to use time-tested algorithms on Ethereum's Layer 1 suggests a prioritisation of security and battle-tested reliability over experimental optimization.
"The Ethereum Foundation has decided to abandon the Poseidon hash on L1 and switch to using traditional hash functions SHA or BLAKE", stated Justin Drake, reflecting the foundation's updated technical roadmap.
This technical realignment is expected to influence the development of Ethereum 2.0 upgrades and future scaling roadmaps. While zkRollups may continue to use Poseidon for internal circuit logic, the base layer’s reliance on SHA or BLAKE ensures compatibility with existing global hardware acceleration and standardized security protocols. This shift highlights the ongoing evolution of the Ethereum blockchain as it balances cutting-edge ZK research with the foundational stability required for a global settlement layer.
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