Sui Adds Post-Quantum Signatures to Devnet Ahead of 2027 Mainnet Plan

Sui has added native support for ML-DSA-65 signatures to its Devnet, giving developers a testing environment for post-quantum account authentication ahead of planned Testnet and mainnet deployment.

MystenLabs released devnet-v1.82.0 on Oct. 12 under Sui protocol version 139. The update allows ML-DSA-65 signatures and multisig members to pass through transaction execution and signature verification.

The release also adds MlDsa65Signature and MlDsa65PublicKey to Sui’s GraphQL interface and updates the Rust software development kit. The changes are limited to Devnet and do not alter authentication for existing mainnet accounts.

ML-DSA is part of the Module-Lattice-Based Digital Signature Standard published by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as FIPS 204. The scheme is designed for transaction authorization in a future environment where quantum computing creates new risks for existing cryptographic systems.

Sui Foundation’s roadmap targets native ML-DSA-65 accounts on Testnet by the end of 2026, followed by native account authentication on mainnet in the first quarter of 2027. The schedule remains subject to independent audits and Testnet feedback.

The planned account system is additive and opt-in. Existing accounts, contracts and integrations are expected to continue operating unchanged as the new authentication method is introduced.

The migration is designed to use users’ existing recovery phrases. An ML-DSA-65 private key uses a 32-byte seed derived through a new derivation path, while post-quantum signatures and public keys are larger than their Ed25519 equivalents. That increases transaction size, although ML-DSA-65 verification costs on Sui remain close to Ed25519.

Sui is also developing a separate post-quantum track for high-value vaults. The network has targeted SLH-DSA-SHA2-128s, a hash-based signature scheme, for use inside Move smart contracts and mainnet deployment in 2026. ML-DSA-65 is intended for everyday account authentication.

The Devnet release is therefore a testing milestone rather than a mainnet security change. Sui’s next stated deployment target is native ML-DSA-65 account support on Testnet by the end of 2026.