Justin Sun says Tron launching post-quantum upgrade plan
justin-sun-says-tron-launching-post-quantum-upgrade-plan

Tron founder Justin Sun said Wednesday the blockchain he helped build is taking steps to head off future technical threats posed by quantum computing.

"When Bitcoin was still debating whether to freeze quantum-vulnerable addresses, and Ethereum was still forming research committees, Tron was already taking action," Sun said. "Today, we officially announce: Tron launches the post-quantum upgrade plan, becoming the first mainstream public chain to deploy NIST-standard post-quantum signature schemes on its mainnet."

Sun's comments follow researchers at Google Quantum AI recently publishing a paper that ignited debate over whether or not it could eventually be possible to break the cryptography that underpins cryptocurrencies.

Essentially, a technological advancement of Shor's algorithm could potentially reduce the resources needed to crack private keys, allowing quantum computers to defeat modern encryption. Google announced a 2029 target for the migration to post-quantum cryptography (PQC).

As some chose to panic, Binance founder Changpeng "CZ" Zhao argued that upgrades to quantum-resistant cryptographic algorithms should be able to counter any real-world threats.

"At a high level, all crypto has to do is upgrade," Zhao said. "So, no need to panic."

Ethereum researcher Justin Drake has cautioned that the results of the Google publication required additional scrutiny and that timelines for practical attacks are probabilistic, not certain. He estimated there is a small but meaningful chance a quantum computer could break elliptic curve keys by the early 2030s.

"Quantum security shouldn't be a debate; it should be a feature," Sun added on Wednesday. "We will ensure that every Tron user's assets are not at risk due to quantum threats. The technical roadmap will be released soon."

Over $80 billion worth of stablecoins, primarily USDT, have been issued on Tron, according to The Block Data Dashboard. The blockchain's total value locked is $5 billion, according to DefiLlama data.