Adam Back, Hashcash creator and Blockstream CEO, has backed Ethereum’s cryptographic course correction as the platform abandons the Poseidon hash function after eight years of development in favor of conventional SHA or BLAKE2s standards. This decision was validated by recent breakthroughs in binary-field mathematics, specifically the Binius proof system in 2023 and Flook in 2024, which made conventional hash algorithms efficient enough for zero-knowledge systems. Back had consistently criticized custom ZK-optimized algorithms, arguing they were insufficiently reviewed by the global cryptographic community. The Ethereum Foundation’s approved timeline targets the LeanVM virtual machine launch in 2027 with full completion at the network’s base layer by 2028.
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