Treasury Attestation in a Post-Quantum World
Your custodian is preparing for post-quantum cryptography. JPMorgan, BNY Mellon, State Street are all evaluating ML-DSA-65. Your CFO and CISO are asking: when do we migrate?
The Quantum Threat
Treasury operations move billions daily through networks signed with ECDSA-256 and RSA-2048. Both are vulnerable to quantum attacks. Adversaries are recording SWIFT messages today, betting they'll have quantum capability in 10-15 years. Every settlement instruction sent today could be retroactively forged.
The Custodian's Timeline
JPMorgan is piloting post-quantum APIs now. BNY Mellon is publishing ML-DSA-65 compatibility guides. By 2028, custody networks will require post-quantum signatures. By 2030, legacy ECDSA/RSA will be deprecated. When your custodian flips the switch, RSA-signed settlement instructions will be rejected.
What You Must Do Now
- Audit current cryptographic inventory and key expirations.
- Contact your custodian and demand their post-quantum roadmap in writing.
- Implement Sovereign Receipts for all settlement confirmations.
- Plan hybrid-mode operations by Q3 2026.
Next: Read the Clearing House guide on Sovereign Receipts for settlements.