Mysten reports Sui’s first native quantum-safe devnet transaction

Mysten Labs says Sui has processed its first native quantum-safe transaction on its development network. The milestone arrived with devnet-v1.82.0, which shipped as protocol version 139 on October 12, 2026. That release adds ML-DSA-65 as a native account signature type. Mainnet support is targeted for Q1 2027, but only if audits and testnet feedback cooperate.

What actually changed on devnet

Sui’s codebase now includes a new entry, SignatureScheme::MLDSA65 = 7, which registers the post-quantum scheme alongside the network’s existing signature options.

ML-DSA-65 is standardized by NIST under FIPS 204 and rated at Level 3 security. Sui intends it for everyday native accounts, the ordinary wallets people use to send tokens and interact with apps.

For high-value Move smart contract vaults, Sui is reaching for a different tool: SLH-DSA-SHA2-128s. Both schemes are NIST-approved and come from distinct mathematical families, meaning a weakness discovered in one family would not automatically compromise the other.

The user experience pitch

Adoption of post-quantum accounts is opt-in. Users can keep their existing 32-byte seeds and recovery phrases rather than starting from scratch.

Addresses don’t need to change either. The upgrade relies on Sui’s existing address aliases and lets users rotate keys from their recovery phrases.

Gas costs are also unchanged. Quantum-safe signatures carry no extra fees.

The effort is being led by Kostas Chalkias, Mysten’s co-founder and chief cryptographer, and Adeniyi Abiodun, co-founder and chief product officer.

How this fits Sui’s broader roadmap

The devnet transaction is one step in a plan Sui laid out in its August 2026 quantum readiness strategy. Quantum-safe vaults built on SLH-DSA-SHA2-128s are aimed at mainnet in 2026, ahead of the account-level upgrade. Native ML-DSA-65 account support follows, with a Q1 2027 target contingent on audit results and testnet feedback.

What this means for Sui and its users

For everyday SUI holders, nothing changes today. The feature lives on devnet, it is opt-in, and mainnet account support is still more than a year out under the current target.

For developers and institutions, the more immediate item is the vault upgrade. Teams managing large Move smart contract treasuries will want to watch whether SLH-DSA-SHA2-128s vaults actually hit mainnet on the 2026 schedule, and how audits treat the implementation.

Adoption is the other open question. An opt-in security feature only protects the people who opt in. The key metrics to watch are testnet feedback, audit outcomes, and whether the vault and account upgrades land on their stated schedules.