What it is. Mode is a small Ethereum side-network that says nothing of its own about quantum security and simply waits on whatever plan the wider family of networks it belongs to eventually adopts.
What we found. The borrowed plan would only start swapping out the at-risk account keys around 2036, later than the deadline experts have set, and the family has not even picked the replacement method yet.
Why it matters. Anyone holding funds or building here is trusting a timeline they cannot influence, on a network already running thin on money and controlled by a single operator, so the protection may land too late to help.
OP Stack rollup-L2 (mainnet 2024-01-31, Conduit-operated sequencer) running standard EVM cryptographic primitives with BLS12-381 KZG point-evaluation at L1 settlement by inheritance. Mode publishes no independent post-quantum posture; PQ trajectory fully derivative of OP Labs January 2026 Superchain roadmap.
Summary
Mode is an OP Stack rollup-L2 (mainnet 2024-01-31, Conduit-operated sequencer, registered in Optimism's superchain-registry) running standard EVM cryptographic primitives, ECDSA secp256k1, Keccak-256, BN254 alt-bn128 precompiles, with BLS12-381 KZG point-evaluation at L1 settlement by inheritance. Mode publishes no independent post-quantum posture; its PQ trajectory is fully derivative of the OP Labs January 2026 Superchain roadmap that targets ECDSA EOA deprecation by January 2036, subject to Optimism governance approval, with PQ algorithm not yet decided. Mode's foundation, docs, and rollup-node repository are silent on PQC. Migration Stage: 1 (Acknowledged-by-inheritance). Raw QRI: 23.9. After-cap QRI: 24 (caps do not bind). Confidence interval: plus-minus 10. Band: 3 Planning at lower edge. Gate 1a-Sig FAIL, Gate 1a-KEM FAIL, Gate 2 PASS, Gate 3 PASS. Architecture-Execution Gap = 36. Supply-Chain cap fires (4 of 4 tiles weak). announcement-to-shipped tag: none (silent posture). Key uncertainties: whether Conduit infrastructure carries any PQ posture not surfaced at Mode level; whether Mode Foundation will issue chain-specific PQ statement; how Superchain hardfork inheritance will route PQ-specific upgrades to a small-TVL member; the scope of L1 BLS12-381 inheritance exposure.
What the gates say
- Gate 1a, Hybrid signature: FAIL , no hybrid signature composition AND or OR documented at Mode or in inherited OP Stack roadmap; PQ scheme not yet decided
- Gate 1a, Hybrid KEM: FAIL , sequencer/RPC TLS uses classical X25519/ECDH; no hybrid-KEM transport declared at Mode or OP Stack
- Gate 1b, Commit-to-hash: COND , Gate 1a-Sig has not even declared OR-composition
- Gate 2, Evidence reconstruction: PASS , every sub-score has ≥3 public artifacts within 48-hour reconstruction window
- Gate 3, Primitive naming: PASS , primitives named at sub-score level: ECDSA secp256k1, Keccak-256, BN254 alt-bn128, BLS12-381 KZG inheritance
Burn-vs-rescue policy on file
Declared option f, Undeclared at Mode level. By Superchain inheritance, the OP Labs January 2026 post implies optional migration via account abstraction, users delegating EOA authority to PQ smart contract accounts via EIP-7702 by January 2036. Mode publishes no chain-specific burn, rescue, or rate-limit policy.
Seven dimensions
Each dimension scores 0–100 internally; the weighted roll-up produces the QRI.
1 Cryptographic Exposure weight 12% 24 / 100
Mode's documentation does not enumerate primitives at this granularity, every named primitive comes from inherited OP Stack spec. Score reduced because Mode does not publish primitives in its own docs and operates under Conduit infrastructure whose primitive surface is undocumented at the public Mode level.
ECDSA secp256k1 (EOAs and sequencer batch signing) · Keccak-256 (hashing and address derivation) · BN254 (alt-bn128) precompiles for pairing-based proof verification · BLS12-381 KZG point-evaluation at L1 settlement (post-Dencun blob path) ECDSA secp256k1→ Shor-break-via-DL-without-pairingsKeccak-256→ Grover-weaken (256→128)BN254 alt-bn128 pairing→ Shor-break-via-pairingsBLS12-381 KZG point-evaluation (L1 inheritance)→ Shor-break-via-pairings
0 PQ families deployed. Classical-only: ECC + Keccak.
No PQC primitives in production; OP Stack roadmap inherited by Mode does not yet name an algorithm.
Mode runs op-geth + op-node binaries and a Conduit-operated sequencer. OP Stack client audits apply to inherited code path. August 2024 Etherfi-recovery upgrade demonstrated Mode's Security Council has used instant-upgrade power. Mode is not yet a Stage 0 project per L2BEAT.
2 Quantum Recovery Exposure weight 8% 31 / 100
Same EVM EOA model. Pubkeys revealed at first spend; EIP-7702 delegations and ERC-4337 UserOps reveal authorizing pubkeys. Mode's TVL has fallen to under $4M (May 2026 reading) from a 2024 peak.
Mode mainnet launched 2024-01-31, so cold-key horizon is short (≤2.5 years on chain).
Historical ECDSA signatures on Mode (sequencer batch posts, user transactions) are forgeable post-Shor.
Sequencer-to-Ethereum batch submission terminates TLS using classical X25519/ECDH and RSA. No declared hybrid-KEM transport at Mode.
3 Metadata, Anonymity & Confidentiality weight 8% 22 / 100
Transparent EVM. Pseudonymous addresses; full graph linkable via standard EVM block explorers.
Mode RPC operated by Conduit + small set of public providers (Alchemy, QuickNode); top-3 concentration likely >70%. Single Conduit-operated sequencer means full mempool observability.
Standard OP Stack canonical bridge plus heavy reliance on LayerZero and Superchain interop. Source/dest correlation observable.
No native privacy layer. Baseline EVM. Shor on secp256k1 exposes signed-history attribution.
None at protocol level.
4 Migration Architecture weight 15% 51 / 100
Mode is registered in Optimism superchain-registry and inherits Superchain hardfork inheritance behavior, receives upgrades (Bedrock, Canyon, Delta, Ecotone, Fjord, Granite, Holocene, Isthmus) on Optimism schedule via Security Council coordination. Aug 2024 Etherfi rescue demonstrated Mode's local Security Council has instant-upgrade power.
EIP-7702 lives in OP Stack via Isthmus (Ethereum Pectra alignment); Mode inherits via Superchain hardfork inheritance. ERC-4337 supported across EVM stack. Mode publishes no specific PQ-account-abstraction client path.
Mode has shipped every Superchain hardfork in line with Optimism schedule since 2024-01-31 launch. Aug 2024 Etherfi-recovery upgrade was an adversarial-pressure-equivalent, Mode's Security Council coordinated L1 bridge fund extraction cleanly within ~24 hours. No contested forks.
No Mode-level hybrid composition declared. Mode inherits OP Labs' Jan 2026 statement that the specific post-quantum signature scheme is not yet decided.
N/A by default per v3.1 rules. No stateful hash schemes (XMSS, LMS, leanXMSS) in scope at Mode.
Mode runs single Conduit-operated sequencer; no BFT-with-BLS-aggregation in Mode's own consensus. Inherits L1 settlement security from Ethereum, which uses BLS12-381 aggregation. Score 0 reflects undeclared at Mode's own surface.
5 Deployment Execution weight 22% 15 / 100
Zero PQC signing on Mode mainnet. Full ECDSA.
No PQC code in Mode rollup-node repository, op-geth, or op-node. Confirmed via repository inspection.
Single Conduit-operated sequencer; no PQC keys.
VOIDED per v3.1 because 5a = 0. Mode publishes no Mode-specific PQ milestone. By inheritance, OP Labs Jan 2026 January 2036 ECDSA EOA deprecation target applies.
Announced PQC mentions trailing 12 months from Mode foundation/team: 0. Shipped PQC: 0. Mode passes the washing test by being silent.
No PQ scheme selected at Mode (or OP Stack); no published bytes-per-block analysis. Undisclosed → 0.
6 Supply Chain Vendor Readiness weight 25% 11 / 100
Top-3 by Mode usage: MetaMask, Rabby, WalletConnect. None has shipped PQC signing in production firmware/extension. Coinbase has published PQ research direction (ML-DSA in MPC); not yet shipped.
Top-3 by Mode TVL flow: Mode native bridge (OP Stack canonical), LayerZero, Superchain interop. LayerZero has stated PQ-readiness intent; no shipped PQC. No tile vendor has shipped PQC.
Top-3 by likely Mode AUM: Coinbase Custody, Fireblocks, BitGo. Coinbase has published most explicit MPC-PQ research direction. Fireblocks and BitGo: no shipped PQC for Mode keys.
Top-3 RPC by Mode usage: Mode public RPC (Conduit-operated), Alchemy, QuickNode. No published PQC TLS/transport roadmap. Conduit's high-availability sequencer (Elector consensus) does not declare PQ posture.
7 Governance & Coordination weight 10% 29 / 100
Single Conduit-operated sequencer (Nakamoto coefficient 1). Permissioned proposer (only whitelisted entities can publish state roots). No permissionless fault-proof challenger set at Mode (not even a Stage 0 project per L2BEAT).
Mode has shipped every Superchain hardfork in line with OP schedule. Aug 2024 Etherfi-recovery upgrade executed cleanly under pressure (~24 hours, ~4800 ETH recovered). Track record shorter and almost entirely inherited from Optimism's coordination.
Mode Foundation exists as coordination entity; no individually named PQ lead. Mode does not publish independent operating manual; PQ governance flows through Optimism Token House / Citizens' House by inheritance.
August 2024 Etherfi-recovery upgrade is the strongest precedent, Mode's Security Council coordinated extraction of ~4800 ETH from L1 bridge under pressure with no exploit and no cross-Council contestation. No precedent for coordinated cryptographic-primitive change.
No PQC tripwire, honeypot, or rate-limited spending rule declared at Mode.
X + Y vs Z, when does the math turn against you?
v3.1 demotes the X+Y vs Z timing test to a secondary signal, the headline output is Migration Stage. The timing test still answers the question: can this chain finish migrating before the threat lands?
Verdict
X+Y midpoint ~2046, Outside risk window (vs Z25 2035); Crisis Zone (vs Z10 2030)
Z-compliance
Outside compliance window, NIST IR 8547 disallows quantum-vulnerable PK by 2035; Mode has no published flag day
Source-disagreement disclosure
v3.1 requires every chain card to publish material divergences among authoritative sources, plus the delta-QRI under alternative weighting.
L2BEAT classifies Mode as not even a Stage 0 project (centralized sequencer + permissioned proposer + permissioned fraud-proof games + no exit window). Mode's own ecosystem materials describe the chain as Superchain member without addressing the maturity-stage finding. Scoring sides with L2BEAT analysis.
Conduit publishes high-availability sequencer documentation but not Mode-specific operational telemetry. Whether the sequencer's PQ posture is Mode's responsibility, Conduit's, or OP Labs' is undeclared at chain level.
Delta-QRI under alternative weighting
+4, alternative-weighting that treats Superchain inheritance as full credit for Dim 4 architecture would lift Mode's QRI to ~28 (still in Band 3 Planning).
Announcement-to-shipped ratio
Announced: 0. Shipped: 0. Ratio: 0.
Tag: none, Mode has neither announced nor shipped (silent posture). The OP Labs January 2026 post is an OP-level event, not a Mode event.
Peers in the rollup-L2 profile
9 chains closest to Mode Network by Stage then QRI.