Justin Sun Says Tron Will Be First Major Blockchain to Deploy Post-Quantum Cryptography

With Bitcoin still debating whether to freeze vulnerable coins, Sun is positioning Tron as the network willing to move first on quantum-resistant signatures, though no technical roadmap has been released yet.

Tron founder Justin Sun announced this week that the network is officially launching a post-quantum upgrade initiative, positioning the move as a first-mover play in a growing industry race to defend against future quantum computing attacks.

Sun on April 14 on X said Tron would adopt NIST-standardized post-quantum cryptographic signatures on its mainnet, aiming to become the first major public blockchain to deploy the technology. “While Bitcoin debates whether to freeze vulnerable coins and Ethereum forms research committees,” he wrote, “Tron is building.”

This story is an excerpt from the Unchained Daily newsletter.

Sun’s remarks come as Bitcoin developers are actively debating two competing quantum proposals: the controversial BIP-361, which would impose a five-year migration deadline and freeze unmigrated coins, and a newer BitMEX Research “canary fund” alternative that would trigger a freeze only after an attacker proves the threat on-chain. Ethereum remains at the research stage.

The Tron network secures more than $5 billion in on-chain value and roughly $86.7 billion in stablecoins, primarily Tether’s USDT. Tron’s delegated proof-of-stake model, which relies on just 27 validators, may provide a coordination advantage over more decentralized networks during any migration. However, post-quantum signatures can be 10 to 121 times larger than current ECDSA signatures, increasing storage and bandwidth demands substantially. As of April 15, no formal governance proposal or technical documentation had been released by Tron DAO. TRX traded near $0.33 following the announcement.