Pre-testnet development preview

No public network, published performance benchmarks, or completed independent audit. Status

Draft — not audited

Post-Quantum
Security Profile v1

Cryptographic surfaces Zeqron targets for post-quantum readiness. This is a development profile — not a certification or audit attestation.

Last reviewed: 2026-09-06 · Profile revision: 1.0-draft · Compatibility: pre-testnet

Scope and non-claims

  • Algorithm choices follow NIST PQC standards (FIPS 203/204/205) — not NIST or FIPS validated products.
  • ML-KEM is for key establishment; ML-DSA / SLH-DSA are for signatures (different roles).
  • No public comparative benchmarks or production network claims on this portal.

What post-quantum means here

  • PQ signatures for transaction and protocol identities (ML-DSA-87 hot path).
  • PQ key establishment for authenticated channels (ML-KEM-1024 / QronHandshake).
  • Versioned cryptographic suites for future migration (crypto-agility).
  • Hash and proof-system assumptions tracked independently (ParallelHash, BLAKE3, Poseidon2/STARK).

Cryptographic suite registry

ML-DSA-87 signatures

Internal build

Hot path — transactions, consensus messages, governance votes (FIPS 204, NIST Level 5).

Design
Accepted — RFC-CRYPTO-PQ-002 / PQ-004
Implementation
Internal build — zeqron-crypto crates
Validation
Under validation — KATs and protocol integration in progress
Availability
Private — not publicly released
Audit
Not audited

ML-KEM-1024 KEM

Internal build

Key encapsulation for authenticated channels — not a signature algorithm (FIPS 203, Level 5).

Design
Accepted — RFC-CRYPTO-PQ-004 INV-CRYPTO-002
Implementation
Internal build — used by QronHandshake
Validation
P2P session establishment under validation
Availability
Private — interop not publicly tested
Audit
Not audited

QronHandshake (P2P)

Under validation

Native PQ session establishment: ML-KEM-1024 + ML-DSA-87 + ChaCha20-Poly1305 + HKDF-SHA3-256. Replaces TLS 1.3 on the Zeqron P2P path.

Design
RFC-NET-003 (draft) + architecture decision approved 2026-05-23
Implementation
Internal — qron-p2p-core handshake
Validation
Internal tests; external crypto audit planned
Availability
Private
Audit
Audit planned — not completed

SLH-DSA cold path

In development

Long-lived anchors, recovery, infrequent governance / epoch seals (FIPS 205).

Design
Architecture defined — CH-5 / crypto-pq master
Implementation
Integration in progress — not fully wired end-to-end
Validation
Pending completion of cold-path policy engine
Availability
Private
Audit
Not audited

Crypto-agility layer

RFC accepted

Versioned suite negotiation and migration without implying a hard fork when possible (RFC-CRYPTO-PQ-005).

Design
RFC accepted — capability manifests designed
Implementation
Partial crate wiring — in development
Validation
Not complete
Availability
Private
Audit
Not audited

Hashing and commitments

Internal build

Protocol hashing: ParallelHash (SP 800-185) with domain separation; BLAKE3 for DID/QronId surfaces; Poseidon2 inside STARK/VRF paths; KMAC256 for authenticated storage.

Design
RFC-CRYPTO-PQ-004 + storage RFCs
Implementation
Internal crates (zeqron-types, storage, crypto)
Validation
Canonical vectors in repo — publication pending
Availability
Private
Audit
Not audited

Accounts and addresses

Designed

Multiple coexisting identifiers from ML-DSA-87 pubkeys — not a single frozen public address standard yet.

Design
32-byte Address (ParallelHash); DID BLAKE3+multibase (RFC-DID-001 Accepted); QronId display qron1… (RFC-NET-002 Draft)
Implementation
Internal — hash choice still drifts across surfaces (BLAKE3 vs ParallelHash)
Validation
Interop not frozen
Availability
Pre-testnet
Audit
Not audited

Consensus message signatures

Internal build

Architecture D uncertified DAG — vertices commit via DAG support, not hot-path QCs. Quorum measured in effective power under QronMerit.

Design
RFC-CONSENSUS-001 + RFC-QRONMERIT-001 (Approved)
Implementation
zeqron-consensus — CRQ enabled by default in params
Validation
Internal Byzantine / quorum tests
Availability
Private / pre-testnet
Audit
Not audited

Zero-knowledge (Hologram / STARK)

Internal build

Transparent STARK proofs (Plonky3 / Poseidon2) — not pairing-based SNARKs. PQ assumptions tracked separately from classical curves.

Design
RFC-STARK-001 / hologram SDK path
Implementation
Internal proof crates + SDK hologram module
Validation
Internal POC benchmarks — not public comparative results
Availability
Private
Audit
Not audited

Key lifecycle

In development

Rotation, recovery, and cold-path dual-sig patterns. Hardware / HSM paths remain roadmap items.

Design
RFC-IDENTITY-002 + custody RFCs
Implementation
Partial — wallet private preview
Validation
Incomplete
Availability
Private preview
Audit
Not audited

Honesty notice

Status badges use a shared portal taxonomy (Concept → Production). Prefer the five-field maturity grid over a single “Implemented” label. Full RFCs remain in the development repository.

Evaluate ZeqronProtocol status
Standard interface restored.