Hoskinson Breaks Down Hash and Lattice Crypto

Charles Hoskinson Highlights Hash-Based vs Lattice-Based Post-Quantum Cryptography as NIST Standards Take Shape

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has drawn attention to the emerging split in post-quantum cryptography between hash-based approaches and lattice-based cryptography, as the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) moves forward with new standards designed to withstand future quantum computers.

The discussion comes amid a broader industry shift toward “post-quantum” security—cryptographic methods intended to remain secure even if large-scale quantum computing makes many of today’s widely used public-key systems easier to break.

NIST recently standardised two prominent lattice-based algorithms: CRYSTALS-Kyber and CRYSTALS-Dilithium. These were among the first post-quantum algorithms to receive standardisation, marking a key milestone for cryptography vendors and software systems that rely on public-key encryption and digital signatures.

Lattice-based designs are generally built on the assumed difficulty of certain mathematical problems in high-dimensional lattices. Their selection by NIST signals that lattice-based primitives are likely to play a central role in next-generation secure communications, authentication, and signatures across the internet and in security-sensitive applications.

The broader post-quantum landscape also includes other families of schemes. One example referenced in the context is Rainbow, an “Unbalanced Oil and Vinegar” construction based on the difficulty of solving systems of multivariate equations. Multivariate cryptography has been explored as an alternative route to post-quantum security, but it highlights how diverse the candidate approaches have been as researchers and standards bodies evaluate trade-offs between security assumptions, performance, and implementation complexity.

For crypto networks and blockchain developers, the direction of post-quantum standardisation matters because it influences which primitives are likely to become widely deployed and audited over time. As standards solidify, protocols that depend on public-key cryptography—especially digital signatures—face increasing pressure to evaluate long-term upgrade paths for a future where quantum-resistant security becomes a baseline expectation.