Sui Signals Q1 2027 Mainnet Upgrade to Avert Quantum Threat

Sui announced new measures to protect its blockchain from future quantum computing threats. The project will implement two quantum-resistant signature protocols, allowing users to upgrade without changing addresses or moving assets.

Sui is adopting two National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) approved schemes. For native accounts, it will use ML-DSA-65 at security level three, already employed by Chrome and Cloudflare to secure web traffic. For smart contract vaults holding high-value assets, it will use SLH-DSA-SHA2-128s, a hash-based signature scheme designed for compatibility with post-quantum standards in financial networks.

The transition to the new signatures is opt-in but seamless. Users will retain their existing seed phrases through a new derivation path, and deposit addresses will remain unchanged. This is achieved via Address Aliases, which update authorization keys to post-quantum while keeping addresses and assets in place. As Sui emphasized, “No forced migration, no expensive transfer of everything an account holds.”

Mysten Labs co-founder and chief product officer Adeniyi Abiodun highlighted the convenience: “Quantum resistant accounts and investment vaults with no need to change addresses.”

ML-DSA-65 accounts are expected to enter testnet by the end of 2025, with full authentication on mainnet targeted for Q1 2027. Quantum-safe vaults will be introduced on Sui’s mainnet before the end of 2025.

Sui’s initiative comes as NIST has proposed a timeline to deprecate traditional cryptography by 2030 and disallow it by 2035, in favor of quantum-resistant signatures. Other industry players are also preparing; for example, Coinbase announced on July 25 that it is adapting its CoreKMS key management system to a post-quantum version, aiming for partial implementation by 2027.

Source: https://news.bitcoin.com/security/sui-signals-q1-2027-mainnet-upgrade-to-avert-quantum-threat/