Tron's Quantum-Resistant Signature Transition May Block Key Changes After Payments

Tron's quantum-resistant signature transition proposal, TIP-899, may result in some wallets being unable to change account permissions and keys after sending assets, though this is not related to the recent wallet lock incident on the mainnet. The proposal remains in draft status as of September 15, 2026, and outlines applying FN-DSA-512 and ML-DSA-44 to transactions, block creation, node handshakes, and TVM while maintaining address formats and account structures.

Two signature methods will be activated or deactivated via separate on-chain governance proposals, so the proposal's existence does not mean both are currently active. The key issue lies in Tron's role-based account permissions: owner permission can change account settings, but active permission only handles authorized transactions, meaning sending assets and changing keys require different permissions.

Tron's documentation states that AccountPermissionUpdateContract requires owner permission approval. Even if a transaction is possible with active permission after key changes, the ability to update keys may be lost if owner permission is separately disabled. For example, an account configured with only FN-DSA keys for owner permission could face issues if that signature method is deactivated.

ML-DSA keys alone might meet owner threshold requirements, but ECDSA and FN-DSA-512 key weights combined to reach a threshold may fail to satisfy approval criteria when one method is disabled. This scenario does not affect all Tron wallets but depends on permission configurations. CryptoSlate highlighted that while payment permissions could remain, key replacement permissions might be lost based on TIP-899's rules.

TIP-899 uses existing Permission weight and threshold structures, allowing both ECDSA and quantum-resistant signatures in transactions for a transitional period. However, unlike ECDSA, quantum-resistant signatures cannot recover public keys from signatures, requiring direct inclusion of public keys in each transaction. FN-DSA-512 public keys are 896 bytes, ML-DSA-44 is 1312 bytes—significantly larger than ECDSA's 33 bytes.

Tron core developer meetings noted that including public keys per transaction increases transaction size and network costs. Both security and data processing requirements must be considered during the transition. ML-DSA was standardized by NIST as FIPS 204 in August 2024, while FN-DSA is at draft stage (FIPS 206) in TIP-899. Differences in standardization status and key sizes mean Tron must separately assess implementation burdens for each algorithm.

Tron has stated additional work is needed for wallet SDKs, hardware wallets, and node functionality. Hardware wallet support timelines and full consumer wallet migration remain undetermined. Unlike Near Protocol's separate key rotation paths, Tron's transition focuses on owner/active permission key configurations and threshold settings.