Post-quantum encryption is becoming an infrastructure project now

Let's Encrypt is moving toward post-quantum cryptography, and the proposal involves Merkle Tree Certificates as a replacement for the current Web PKI handshake. The thread notes this would actually make the handshake smaller than today's, which is a nice side effect. But it also throws away decades of battle-tested infrastructure and tooling.

The honest tension in the thread: nobody knows what quantum computers will actually be capable of or when. Building quantum-resistant cryptography today is a bet on a threat that is real but not yet quantified. The counterargument, also in the thread, is that the window to migrate is now, before quantum capability arrives, because you can't retroactively protect already-captured encrypted traffic.

This is showing up as an infrastructure project, not a product feature. The implication is that certificate tooling, TLS libraries, and anything that touches PKI will need updates. The teams involved are trusted, but the migration will be disruptive.