$NEAR Mobile (@NEARMobile_app) has launched an update bringing post-quantum vaults to users’ phones and extending quantum-resistant account security to mobile self-custody across the $NEAR (@NEARProtocol) $NEAR ecosystem.
The vaults use ML-DSA to sign transactions. The cryptographic scheme, standardized by NIST, was added to the $NEAR Protocol mainnet in July. Users can send, receive and stake from these accounts. The update also provides improved backup options.
What ML-DSA Is and How $NEAR Adopted It
ML-DSA, or Module-Lattice-Based Digital Signature Algorithm, is based on CRYSTALS-Dilithium. NIST’s post-quantum standardization program says the agency released final versions of its first three post-quantum standards on August 13, 2024.
$NEAR Protocol activated post-quantum signing on mainnet on July 20, 2026, with its 2.13 network upgrade. A press release at the time said the upgrade made $NEAR one of the first layer-1 blockchains to have a NIST-approved post-quantum signing scheme live on mainnet. It lets accounts rotate their keys to guard against future quantum attacks that could break current signing methods.
The change was simpler because of $NEAR’s account model. Instead of relying on a single keypair, accounts use human-readable IDs controlled by rotatable access keys. This allows users to change signing methods without transferring assets to a new account, the same release said.
Limits and What Comes Next
The upgrade does not make the entire network quantum-resistant. $NEAR’s roadmap identifies securing validator consensus as the next major step. It also notes that post-quantum signatures are much larger than other schemes, and says the Near One team is working to improve efficiency. The roadmap said several ecosystem wallets were updating to support quantum signing: Meteor Wallet was live, while others, including Ledger, were coming soon.
A later report by The Quantum Insider said $NEAR had outlined a timeline that includes consensus upgrades in the second half of 2027, with inbound cross-chain transactions starting in 2027.
The $NEAR Mobile update gives phone users a practical way to hold and stake assets in accounts protected by the newer signature scheme, rather than relying solely on classical keys.
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