Sui Was Designed With ‘Cryptographic Agility’ for Quantum Era, Co-Founder Says

As advances in artificial intelligence and quantum computing fuel concern about existing cryptographic systems, blockchains need architectures that can flexibly replace cryptographic algorithms, according to Mysten Labs co-founder and chief cryptographer Kostas Chalkias.

In a post on X on Oct. 20, Chalkias wrote that “cryptographic agility” is drawing attention as concerns over AI and quantum computing intensify.

Cryptographic agility is a design concept that allows a blockchain to replace or add core cryptographic technologies, such as digital signatures, without redesigning the entire system.

Chalkias said his team adopted that approach as a core design principle when it developed R3 Corda in 2016 and 2017. At the time, the platform supported ECDSA, EdDSA and RSA, as well as the SPHINCS signature scheme designed to counter attacks from quantum computers.

He added that Meta’s Libra project later introduced a structure that separates account addresses from authentication keys. That setup allows authentication keys to be replaced without changing the account itself, making it easier to transition to new cryptographic methods in the future.

Chalkias said the same principle carried over to Sui. He said the blockchain was built from the outset to support multiple signature schemes, enabling features such as zkLogin, key rotation, quantum-resistant cryptography and native multisig.

He wrote that a design principle his team began pursuing a decade ago has now become a key topic for the industry, and stressed the importance of building blockchains from the development stage with structures that can adapt to future changes in cryptographic technology.