Cloudflare Plans Public CA for Post-Quantum Certificates
The company expects to begin issuing production Merkle Tree Certificates in the first quarter of 2027.
- By Danielle Naidu
- Sep 30, 2026
Cloudflare intends to become a public certificate authority (CA), issuing conventional digital certificates and supporting post-quantum Merkle Tree Certificates (MTCs). The company has also agreed to acquire established Root CA key material from GlobalSign.
The transaction is expected to close within two months, subject to customary closing conditions. Cloudflare has applied for inclusion in root certificate programs maintained by major browser and device makers, with conventional certificate issuance planned after those review processes are completed.
Cloudflare said MTCs use lightweight proofs to verify certificates against a trusted registry without sending larger post-quantum signatures during every connection.
About the Author
Danielle Naidu is assistant editor for Security Today, Campus Security Today, Occupational Health & Safety and Environmental Protection Online.