DA Position on Post-Quantum Cryptography
We occasionally get asked about PQC support and our position on the threat to Canton / Canton Network from quantum computing. Below are some thoughts on the topic:
Digital Asset is tracking the state of quantum computing and the potential for these devices to break current cryptographic ciphers and algorithms. The industry believes that quantum computers larger enough to crack current cryptography are still an estimated 5-10 years away. It is also expected that faster PQC algorithms will appears over next 2-3 years. Only recently have standards started to appear for Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) algorithms (e.g. FIPS 203/204/205 from NIST) and actual implementations of libraries are still outstanding.
Canton has implemented a pluggable approach to cryptography, allowing us to add new signature and asymmetric encryption schemes. However, support for these in libraries, browsers and server software, and the issuance of TLS certificates using them is still outstanding.
The key risk remains store-and-decrypt later where sensitive information with a long lifetime is stored for decryption when quantum computing arrives with enough capability. The design of Canton minimizes data distribution as part of privacy features and this removes the ability to capture a single “state” of the whole ledger for such attacks. Once TLS support is available for PQC then this will block many store-and-decrypt style attacks.
Digital Asset uses industry standard cryptographic algorithms and we continue to assess migration paths towards a PQC world.
For answers to many questions on our security posture, please see our Trust Center: Trust Center
US Government (NIST): https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/ir/2024/NIST.IR.8547.ipd.pdf
UK Government (NCSC): NCSC
Update for mid-year 2026.
Canton intends to implement PQC algorithms over the next 6-12 months, with ML-DSA based signing currently available in Canton behind an experimental flag. Further work is required for other signing schemes and to update encryption and other aspects of the Canton protocol. We expect PQC migration to consist of 1) implementation of PQC schemes for signing and encryption, 2) work with relevant ecosystem partners to get support for PQC in wallet, MPC, exchanges, SDKs, etc and 3) migration of parties to use PQC schemes instead of elliptic curve or RSA schemes. The final details of these steps are being mapped out now, including changes needed to core SDKs, APIs, and protocols.
We are aware of several partners who already have started testing with ML-DSA and expect to engage further on this towards 2026 year-end.