Integrate the next suite
A new PQ signature scheme needs an admitted algorithm ID, verification support, and tested key, signature, and certificate limits. Today, only ML-DSA-44 is admitted; unknown algorithms are rejected.
Post-quantum authentication
Secure the authority
that secures the chain.
TOS implements ML-DSA-44 validator signatures today. Its algorithm-tagged consensus format separates validator identity from signing keys, providing a foundation for future PQ algorithm upgrades.
Post-quantum validators
from canonical genesis.
The canonical generator selects protocol version 18, four equally weighted PQ validators, and ML-DSA-44 algorithm ID 1. Public identities enter through validator-pq.pub; private keys remain with operators. The generator rejects the legacy classical bootstrap file.
1,312 BML-DSA-44 public key
2,420 BML-DSA-44 signature
ID 1Current consensus algorithm
Post-quantum today.
Cryptographically adaptable over time.
ML-DSA-44 is the current signature suite, not a permanent commitment to one algorithm. Validator descriptors and signatures carry an explicit algorithm ID; a stable validator identity is separate from the key ID, which binds the algorithm and public key. This design gives TOS a foundation for evolving its cryptography as standards, security evidence, and operational needs change.
Prepare validators
Release compatible node software, provision new signing keys, and validate the transition on testnet. Stable validator identity is separate from replaceable signing credentials; algorithm migration must preserve the protocol’s authorization rules.
Activate together
Coordinate a protocol upgrade so validators apply the same verification rules at the activation boundary. Adopting another PQ algorithm is a network upgrade, rather than an individual validator’s runtime preference.
Identity that survives key rotation.
Root authorization
The validator controller is a stable account identity. Root-authorized actions control key binding and rotation within the contract’s rules.
Dedicated signing keys
Consensus keys authenticate Simplex messages under a dedicated signing context. Consensus authority is distinct from unrestricted controller spending.
Separate network identity
ADNL transport identities route peer communication. A post-quantum consensus signature is not a claim that every network connection uses post-quantum cryptography.
Post-quantum authorization
inside smart contracts.
PQCHECKSIG_MLDSA44 verifies Pure ML-DSA-44 signatures over canonically encoded cells. Accounts that adopt the authentication module can stage a transition, require module-only authorization, or require module and classical co-signature.