Monad has proposed a wallet security upgrade that would let users replace lost or outdated cryptographic keys while keeping the same blockchain address and assets, opening a path for key rotation, social recovery, passkeys and post-quantum security.
Separating Addresses From Keys
At the center of the proposal is a distinction between an account's permanent identity and the credentials permitted to control it. Under the current model used by most Ethereum-compatible wallets, an externally owned account is closely tied to its private key. Losing that key can permanently remove access to the assets held by the account, while adopting a different security method can require users to create another address and transfer their holdings.
Monad researchers Kushal Babel and Jan Camenisch have proposed changing that relationship so an address could continue to identify the same account even when its authentication credentials are replaced. Users could add, replace or retire authorization credentials while leaving the underlying address unchanged.
Social Recovery and Passkeys
A user who loses a private key could recover control through another authorization method configured for the account. One example described in the proposal would allow two trusted parties acting together to install a replacement credential if the original key becomes unavailable. The same structure could allow an existing account to move to multisignature authorization without transferring tokens or NFTs to another wallet address.
Passkeys stored on phones or computers could also become valid authentication methods if the required support is eventually implemented. For users and applications that depend on a stable wallet address, keeping the identifier unchanged could avoid the operational work involved in updating addresses across services after a security migration.
Post-Quantum Security Without Moving Funds
One use case identified by the authors involves replacing conventional cryptographic credentials with schemes designed to withstand future quantum computers. Powerful enough quantum machines could eventually threaten digital signature systems used by major blockchains. The risk involves algorithms capable of deriving private information from cryptographic public keys, potentially allowing an attacker to forge signatures for affected accounts.
Instead of requiring a holder to send assets to a newly generated post-quantum wallet, the account could install a different authorization method while retaining its existing address. A similar problem has already prompted work elsewhere in the industry, including a proposal from AmericanFortress called Zero-Knowledge Proof of Seed Provenance, designed to protect existing Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana addresses without requiring holders to move their assets.
An Early-Stage Proposal
The design remains at an early stage, with Babel and Camenisch outlining the architecture while a detailed implementation specification still needs to be developed. Monad established its formal improvement proposal process earlier this year for technical changes that affect the network. Core proposals can require changes to the execution or consensus layers and must progress through draft, review and other stages before reaching final status.
Any Monad implementation would still depend on the proposal passing the network's technical review process and developers producing the detailed specification needed for client implementation. Existing Monad accounts would continue operating normally under the current proposal if the changes are eventually adopted.
Monad's Ethereum-Compatible Architecture
Monad launched its mainnet in November 2025 after raising $244 million from investors. The blockchain is designed to process as many as 10,000 transactions per second while retaining compatibility with Ethereum smart contracts. The network's Ethereum Virtual Machine compatibility allows developers to deploy applications written for Ethereum while using Monad's execution architecture and block production system.
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