NEAR Protocol: launches mainnet upgrade - 20 Jul 2026

NEAR Protocol says nearcore 2.13 is live on mainnet, bringing FIPS-204 post-quantum signing, dynamic resharding, compact onchain key storage, and improvements to epoch sync and meta-transactions, according to the MAINNET UPGRADE announcement.The release adds protocol-level capacity and security improvements rather than changing token economics. Post-quantum signing can strengthen the network's security posture, while dynamic resharding and sync improvements are aimed at handling growth more efficiently and reducing operational friction for the chain.That keeps the change relevant to NEAR's long-term utility, but any broader effect depends on whether developers and users make use of the added capabilities. The update is live and available now, although the announcement does not show confirmed new usage, fees, or adoption from these changes alone.MAINNET UPGRADEQuantum-safe signing is now live on NEAR mainnet.This makes NEAR one of the first blockchains with a NIST-approved post-quantum signature scheme in production.The upgrade also launches dynamic resharding, so NEAR Protocol can scale itself automatically 🧵