NEAR Protocol activated post-quantum signing support on its mainnet on July 20, 2026, making it one of the first major blockchain networks to ship a production-ready quantum-resistant signature scheme. The feature, delivered through network upgrade 2.13, implements the NIST-standard ML-DSA-65 lattice-based signature scheme, formally known as FIPS-204.
That standard was finalized by NIST in August 2024 under its original working name, CRYSTALS-Dilithium. It’s designed to withstand attacks from quantum computers, which could eventually break the elliptic-curve cryptography that secures virtually every blockchain in existence today.
What the upgrade actually does
The practical upshot is straightforward: NEAR users can now rotate their account keys to a quantum-resistant scheme with a single on-chain transaction. No asset migration required. No new wallet address needed.
This is possible because of NEAR’s account model, which was designed for cryptographic flexibility when the mainnet launched in 2020. The architecture supports multiple signature schemes on the same account, so the upgrade doesn’t force anyone’s hand. Users can voluntarily switch while the existing Ed25519 and secp256k1 schemes remain fully supported.
On the wallet side, Meteor Wallet already has live integration with the new signing feature. Ledger and other wallet providers are reportedly in the process of adding support, though no firm timelines have been announced.
Why this matters beyond NEAR’s native chain
The upgrade doesn’t just protect NEAR-native assets. Through Chain Signatures and NEAR Intents, the post-quantum security extends to assets from over 30 other blockchains, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and various stablecoins.
Chain Signatures allow NEAR accounts to sign transactions on other networks without bridging assets. NEAR Intents enable cross-chain operations through a declarative framework. Both of these systems now inherit the quantum-resistant properties of the new signing scheme, at least on the NEAR side of the equation.
The quantum threat, in context
The concern isn’t just about future attacks. It’s about a strategy called “harvest now, decrypt later,” where adversaries collect encrypted data today with the expectation of cracking it once quantum hardware matures. For blockchain, this means that public keys exposed on-chain right now could theoretically be used to derive private keys in the future.
NEAR co-founder Illia Polosukhin and Near One CTO Anton Astafiev have both emphasized the importance of proactive measures given the pace of quantum computing advances. Their framing connects the quantum-resistance work to NEAR’s broader vision around multi-chain infrastructure and what they describe as an emerging “agent economy,” where autonomous AI agents transact on-chain.
What comes next
In a roadmap published on August 24, 2026, NEAR outlined its next milestones. The team is working on efficiency improvements for post-quantum signatures, which are notably larger than their classical counterparts. ML-DSA-65 signatures clock in at around 3,300 bytes compared to 64 bytes for Ed25519.
The bigger target is securing NEAR’s consensus mechanism with post-quantum cryptography by the end of 2027. Right now, the upgrade protects user-facing key management, but the validators securing the network still rely on classical signature schemes.