Key Highlights
- Ripple has published a four-phase roadmap to make the XRP Ledger quantum-resistant by 2028, with cryptographic testing underway in partnership with Project Eleven.
- The roadmap includes a “Quantum-Day” contingency plan to force migration to post-quantum accounts if current cryptography is compromised unexpectedly.
- No amendment has been enacted on mainnet, and the 2028 date remains a forward-looking target, not a present-day network state.
Following a recent Google study showing that quantum computers could crack blockchain security with fewer resources than previously thought, Ripple has announced a plan to protect the XRP Ledger from these future threats. Their four-step engineering roadmap aims to have the XRP Ledger ready for the quantum computing era by 2028.
Ripple’s plan, created by Ayo Akinyele, Head of Engineering at RippleX, details how the company aims to upgrade the security of its financial network – which currently settles transactions in 3-5 seconds – to protect against future quantum computing threats. This upgrade will be done without interrupting the approximately $80 billion in assets secured by the XRPL ecosystem.
This timing isn’t a coincidence. A recent study published on March 31st – a collaboration between Google Quantum AI, UC Berkeley, Stanford, and the Ethereum Foundation – revealed that the cryptography protecting most blockchains could be cracked with significantly fewer quantum computing resources than previously thought – about 20 times fewer.
The Four Phases: From Contingency to Full Transition
Ripple has a plan with two main goals: keeping the XRPL network running smoothly while it updates, and getting ready in case the update happens sooner than predicted. This plan will be carried out in four steps.
The first step involves creating a plan for if current encryption methods are suddenly compromised – a situation Ripple calls “Quantum-Day.” If this happens, the XRPL network would no longer accept standard signatures and would require accounts to switch to more secure, quantum-resistant keys. Ripple is also investigating using zero-knowledge proofs, which would allow users to prove they own their keys without revealing sensitive information during the switch.
The project is now in its second phase, which involves testing how well different quantum-resistant signature methods – like ML-DSA – work with XRPL’s transaction system. This testing measures speed, efficiency, and storage requirements. Ripple is working with Project Eleven, a security company specializing in post-quantum cryptography, to create a working model of a hybrid signing system. This includes testing by validators, performance checks on a test network (Devnet), and a sample digital wallet.
Starting in the latter half of 2026, we’ll begin testing potential post-quantum signatures on our Devnet alongside the current signature methods, allowing developers to experiment with the new technology. The final step will be a formal proposal to upgrade the XRPL to include post-quantum cryptography fully, which will require agreement from network validators to implement on the main network.
XRPL’s Native Key Rotation: Advantage or Overstated?
Ripple points out that the XRPL network has a built-in feature for updating cryptographic keys, which is a significant benefit as we prepare for the potential shift to post-quantum cryptography. This feature allows users to change their keys without needing to create new accounts or move their funds, simplifying any future upgrades.
Unlike Ethereum, which doesn’t have a built-in way to change account keys, preparing for quantum computing on that platform would force users to individually transfer all their funds to new accounts. This would be a difficult process, especially considering how many applications and financial tools rely on existing smart contracts and decentralized finance platforms.
While key rotation is a helpful step, it doesn’t fully protect against quantum computing threats – Ripple admits this themselves. It simply prepares the system for future upgrades, but the actual quantum-resistant technology still needs to be created, thoroughly tested, and implemented. Other networks are taking different routes: Ethereum aims to be quantum-resistant by 2029 with a series of upgrades, and Bitcoin developers are looking at proposals like BIP-360 and StarkWare’s “Quantum Safe Bitcoin” prototype. Some projects, like QRL and Abelian, were built with quantum resistance in mind from the beginning.
No Mainnet Changes Yet
It’s important to remember that plans and actual releases are different. Currently, no updates to the XRPL have been implemented with post-quantum signatures. No validators have switched over yet. The goal of 2028 depends on successful testing, everyone in the XRPL community working together, and validators approving the changes – and each of those steps could take longer than expected.
The technical work is being led by Ripple’s cryptography team, which includes Dr. Murat Cenk, Dr. Tamas Visegrady, Dr. Oleg Burundukov, and Dr. Aanchal Malhotra. Engineer Denis Angell is already building a first version of ML-DSA on Ripple’s AlphaNet. Later this year, the testing phase on the Devnet will be the first opportunity for external verification of the progress.
While powerful quantum computers capable of breaking current encryption aren’t available yet, the threat is still real. Google estimates that a machine with fewer than 500,000 qubits could crack a common type of encryption (ECDSA-256), but such a machine doesn’t exist currently. Experts predict these computers could arrive between 2029 and 2035, depending on how quickly technology advances. A more pressing concern, highlighted by Google and Ripple, is that attackers might be collecting encrypted data now, intending to decrypt it once quantum computers become powerful enough – a strategy known as ‘harvest now, decrypt later’.
At the time this was published, XRP was trading around $1.43, showing a gain of over 4.6% in the last week, according to CoinMarketCap data.
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2026-04-21 08:53