NEAR adds a post-quantum signature scheme, allowing accounts to complete key rotation in a single transaction

According to a technical article published on May 6 by Near One CTO Anton Astafiev on the NEAR official technical blog, and an official announcement posted by the NEAR Protocol on X on the same day, the Near One team is adding the first post-quantum cryptography signature scheme to the NEAR network. According to the announcement, the scheme planned for adoption is FIPS-204.

FIPS-204 technical specifications and testnet go-live schedule

According to Anton Astafiev’s technical article, the NEAR Protocol currently supports two signature schemes—EdDSA (Ed25519) and ECDSA (secp256k1)—but neither is quantum-secure. This update will add FIPS-204 (ML-DSA) as the first post-quantum secure signature option on top of the existing architecture, using design features that NEAR has already supported for multiple signature schemes to achieve compatibility for the added scheme.

According to the same technical article, after the update goes live, NEAR account holders will be able to perform key rotation by executing a single transaction, switching to the post-quantum secure signature scheme. Anton Astafiev noted in the article that this update also helps evaluate the performance of larger keys in real use ahead of time, as well as the follow-up updates needed later.

Architectural advantages of the NEAR account model

According to Anton Astafiev’s technical article, NEAR’s account architecture differs fundamentally from Bitcoin and Ethereum: the latter two’s blockchain addresses and cryptography are directly bound, while NEAR accounts use a cryptography-decoupled design. Each account is controlled through a rotatable “Access Key,” and can also hold smart contracts, supporting multi-key management. Anton Astafiev pointed out that NEAR’s early design team had already taken post-quantum security issues into consideration during the architecture’s initial phase, and the above design makes it technically feasible to add a new signature scheme.

Wallet collaboration and post-quantum cross-chain signatures across more than 35 chains

According to Anton Astafiev’s technical article, Near One has started collaborating with software and hardware wallet developers such as Ledger to jointly plan post-quantum support solutions. The article states that current hardware wallets generally do not support quantum-secure signatures, and not all hardware wallets have the capability to support them. Near One’s strategy is to work with manufacturers to push solutions forward as quickly as possible.

On cross-chain support, according to the same technical article, NEAR’s Chain Signature (Chain Signature) MPC network currently supports threshold signatures for more than 35 public chains. The Defuse team is developing quantum-secure cross-chain signatures for NEAR Intents users, aiming to provide a quantum-secure environment for users in other ecosystems where the migration to post-quantum cryptography is progressing more slowly.

According to Anton Astafiev’s technical article, Near One is also researching a scheme that verifies the legitimacy of original seed phrases using zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs, allowing users to verify legal ownership of assets through the seed phrase and a hash step between the seed phrase and the private key, even when the security of the private key is under threat.

FAQ

What post-quantum signature scheme does NEAR Protocol plan to adopt, and when will the testnet be launched?

According to the technical article published by Near One CTO Anton Astafiev on May 6, 2026, NEAR plans to adopt FIPS-204 (ML-DSA, formerly known as Dilithium). This is a lattice-based post-quantum signature scheme approved by NIST, and the testnet version is targeted to go live by the end of Q2 2026.

How can a NEAR account complete post-quantum key rotation?

According to Anton Astafiev’s technical article, once the FIPS-204 scheme goes live, any NEAR account holder can complete key rotation by executing a single transaction to switch to the post-quantum secure signature scheme, and this operation does not require a complex migration process.

How does NEAR’s post-quantum plan cover users on other public chains?

According to Anton Astafiev’s technical article, NEAR’s Chain Signature MPC network supports threshold signatures for more than 35 public chains; the Defuse team is developing quantum-secure cross-chain signature schemes, aiming to provide a quantum-secure environment for users on other chains where migration to post-quantum cryptography is progressing more slowly.