Hello everyone,
Below is a working draft of how BGIN activities could align with Japan’s NEDO post-quantum cryptography (PQC) competition timeline, alongside related academic and ecosystem events (Ethereum Foundation, conferences, and BGIN Block / GDC). The goal is to share direction early and invite feedback before dates and formats are finalized.
Context
The roadmap ties together:
- NEDO: competition design, call for proposals, submission deadline, shortlisting, winner selection, and follow-on workshops.
- BGIN: lectures, GDC, Block series sessions with NIST, and workshops linked to the competition lifecycle.
- Broader ecosystem: selected conferences and the Ethereum Foundation PQC retreat as places where technical specifications and testbed discussions can connect to the same themes.
Proposed roadmap (high level)
| Period | NEDO | BGIN | Academic / other | EF | Notes / agenda |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 May–Jul | — | Lecture series | — | — | Includes a session on the Google PQC paper (21 May) and other lectures; scope may include Bitcoin-oriented material. |
| 2026 Sep 1–3 | — | GDC | — | — | PQC session(s) for policy alignment. |
| 2026 Sep 17 | — | — | CBT | — | PQC session. |
| 2026 Oct 9–12 | — | — | — | PQC Retreat | Discussion of Ethereum-related technical specs and testbeds. |
| 2026 Oct 15–16 | — | Block15 | — | — | PQC session with NIST. |
| 2026 Oct 19–23 | CSS | — | — | — | Drafting of competition guidelines / call text. |
| 2026 Dec 13–15 | — | — | SSR | — | Publication of competition guidelines / call. |
| 2027 Jan | — | — | — | — | Competition opens (applications). |
| 2027 Feb 8–12 | — | — | FC, CoDecFin | — | Workshop related to the competition. |
| 2027 Mar | — | Block16 | — | — | Workshop related to the competition. |
| 2027 Jun | — | — | ICBC | — | Workshop related to the competition. |
| 2027 Sep | Application deadline | — | — | — | — |
| 2027 (Sep) | — | — | CBT | — | Workshop related to the competition. |
| 2027 Oct | — | Block17 | — | — | PQC session with NIST. |
| 2027 Oct | CSS | — | — | — | Applicants’ workshop. |
| 2027 Dec | Shortlisting | — | — | — | — |
| 2028 | — | — | FC, CoDecFin | — | Evaluation workshop. |
| 2028 Mar | — | Block18 | — | — | Evaluation workshop. |
| 2028 Jun | — | — | ICBC | — | Final evaluation workshop. |
| 2028 Jul–Sep | Winner selection | — | — | — | — |
| 2028 Oct | — | Block18 | — | — | Workshop toward standardization. |
| 2028 Oct | CSS | — | — | — | Workshop on next steps after the competition. |
Acronyms in the table (CBT, CSS, SSR, FC, ICBC, CCS, etc.) refer to specific conferences or meetings on the original calendar; please treat exact names and dates as tentative until confirmed by organizers.
Open challenge: Bitcoin, other chains, and PQC
The columns “Bitcoin” and “Other chain” in our internal planning sheet are intentionally empty for now. That reflects a real gap we need to work through, not an omission by mistake.
We still need a concrete plan for how to incorporate PQC-related work and perspectives from:
- the Bitcoin community (research, implementation roadmaps, standards discussions, and governance norms), and
- other blockchain ecosystems beyond the Ethereum-centric track already visible on the calendar (e.g., retreats and spec/testbed conversations).
Questions we should answer together include:
- Outreach: Who are the right liaison points (WGs, individuals, sister organizations) so BGIN does not only mirror one chain’s trajectory?
- Programming: Should Bitcoin- and multi-chain–oriented content live in the lecture series, Block sessions, GDC policy tracks, or dedicated side events—and how do we avoid fragmenting the audience?
- Competition alignment: Which parts of the NEDO competition narrative (threat models, migration, interoperability, custody, layer-2, bridges) matter most to non-EVM communities, and how do we reflect that in calls for participation and workshop agendas?
- Neutrality: How do we keep BGIN’s role ecosystem-neutral while still giving each community a fair voice in the same roadmap?
If you have ideas, partnerships, or speaker suggestions for Bitcoin and other-chain PQC angles, please reply in this thread. Early input will help shape the lecture line-up and the workshop series through 2027–2028.