The primer
What a quantum computer would actually break, what the NIST replacements weigh in bytes, and how that runs into the way Solana checks a transaction. Written for engineers, sourced against the published standards, and free of predictions.
| # | Chapter | Level | Read | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | What breaks, what bends: Shor, Grover and your keys Which parts of today's cryptography a large quantum computer would destroy, which parts it would barely scratch, and why that split decides what a Solana team has to change. | Beginner | 8 min | 2026-10 |
| 02 | Signatures by the byte: Ed25519, ML-DSA and the rest How Ed25519 and ML-DSA work at the level an engineer needs, the exact sizes of every NIST option, and why on Solana the size of a signature matters far more than its speed. | Intermediate | 10 min | 2026-10 |
| 03 | Key exchange and the hybrid handshake What a key-encapsulation mechanism is, how ML-KEM-768 works and what it costs on the wire, why everyone deploys it as a hybrid with X25519, and where Solana builders actually rely on key exchange. | Intermediate | 8 min | 2026-10 |
| 04 | Inside a Solana transaction, byte by byte The wire format, the 1,232-byte ceiling, who verifies signatures and where, and the four places post-quantum signatures would collide with Solana as it works today. | Intermediate | 9 min | 2026-10 |
| 05 | Designing for the swap: crypto-agility and a migration plan What crypto-agility means in actual code, a five-step migration plan for Solana teams, how dual signing rolls out, what changes for wallets, and how to set a timeline you can defend. | Advanced | 9 min | 2026-10 |
Each chapter assumes the ones before it but can be read alone. If you already know why Ed25519 is at risk, skip to 04.
Chapters end with the standards and papers they rely on, linked to the originals. Byte sizes are published parameters, not measurements.
Each chapter shows the month it was last checked against the standards and the Solana protocol. This field moves fast, so check the date.
For learning. The primer explains published standards and the current Solana protocol. It does not forecast when a quantum attack becomes possible, does not describe any shipped post-quantum feature on Solana mainnet, and is not security, legal or financial advice. For how the tools work, see the docs.