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>>NEAR Protocol introduces post‑quantum signing as its token surges on quantum and AI momentum.

NEAR Protocol introduces post‑quantum signing as its token surges on quantum and AI momentum.

crypthub

about 10 hours ago

Quantum-Resistant Upgrade

NEAR Protocol is adding post‑quantum cryptography to its blockchain, making it one of the first Layer‑1 networks to defend against future quantum attacks. The upgrade will overhaul consensus, validator operations, epoch synchronization and transaction signing in a single “future‑proof migration.” New cryptographic primitives are being layered on an already quantum‑friendly design to secure both the core network and the cross‑chain Intents system.

Market Reaction & Industry Context

Following the announcement, NEAR’s token rose 5.6% in 24 hours to $1.47 and is higher on daily, weekly and monthly charts, giving the project a market cap of about $1.93 billion. The move comes amid growing crypto‑industry anxiety about quantum threats, which has boosted privacy‑focused and quantum‑resistant tokens such as Zcash. Investors see NEAR’s proactive stance as a differentiator in the competitive Layer‑1 space.

AI Positioning & Future Outlook

NEAR markets itself as “the blockchain for AI,” with co‑founder Illia Polosukhin co‑authoring the seminal transformer paper and the launch of an AI Agent Fund to back on‑chain agents. While the post‑quantum migration is still in progress, further work on consensus and validator infrastructure is needed before full quantum resistance can be claimed. Developers and investors are advised to monitor NEAR’s blog and GitHub for upcoming implementation milestones.