Sui Signals Q1 2027 Mainnet Upgrade to Avert Quantum Threat

Sui Announces Quantum Prevention Signature Work

While large projects are still debating how to prepare for an upcoming quantum computing-dominated world, smaller projects are already taking action to protect users.

Sui, a blockchain initiative, recently revealed it is working on bringing quantum-resistant measures later this year, adding two new post-quantum signature schemes natively.

SUI’s quantum strategy has a different approach for native accounts and quantum vaults, adopting two National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) approved schemes. For the former, Sui proposes ML-DSA-65 in Level three, which is being used by Chrome and Cloudflare to protect web traffic. SLH-DSA-SHA2-128s, a hash-based signature scheme, will be applied for smart contract vaults holding high-value assets, ensuring compatibility with post-quantum standards adopted by other financial networks.

The transition to these new signature schemes will be opt-in but seamless, with users conserving the same seed phrases using a new derivation path. Deposit addresses would remain the same, facilitating the adoption of these measures by reducing user involvement.

The key for this upgrade path is Address Aliases, which allow updating authorization keys to post-quantum while holding addresses and assets in place. “No forced migration, no expensive transfer of everything an account holds,” Sui stressed.

Mysten Labs’ co-founder and chief product officer Adeniyi Abiodun highlighted the convenience of this easy upgrade path for users. “Quantum resistant accounts and investment vaults with no need to change addresses,” he declared.

ML-DSA-65 accounts are expected to enter testnet by year-end, while full authentication using these signatures might come to mainnet by Q1 2027. Similarly, quantum-safe vaults will be introduced into Sui’s mainnet before year-end.

Sui’s move comes as the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has proposed a quantum transition timeline that recommends deprecating traditional cryptography (the one used for cryptocurrency) by 2030 and disallowing it by 2035 in favor of quantum-resistant signatures.

Industry heavyweights are also working to avoid quantum mishaps. On July 25, Coinbase announced that it was working to adapt its CoreKMS key management system to a post-quantum version, aiming for partial implementation by 2027.