Ripple Outlines Four-Phase Quantum-Safe Plan for XRP Ledger by 2028

Gate News message, April 20 — Ripple has unveiled a comprehensive four-phase roadmap to make the XRP Ledger quantum-safe by 2028, following growing industry concerns over quantum computing threats to blockchain security. A recent paper from Google Quantum AI highlighted that the cryptography securing most blockchains today could be broken by sufficiently powerful quantum computers.

Ripple's plan begins with emergency preparedness, including backup mechanisms and zero-knowledge proof tools for users to migrate to post-quantum encryption if needed. Starting in early 2026, Ripple will research quantum risks and test new security tools through Project Eleven. By the end of 2026, advanced post-quantum security methods will be tested, with full XRP Ledger upgrades completed by 2028 through a formal network amendment. The company also flagged the "harvest now, decrypt later" threat, where bad actors collect encrypted blockchain data today for future decryption.

XRP Ledger appears better positioned than Bitcoin against quantum threats. According to an April 2026 audit by XRPL validator "Vet", approximately 300,000 XRP accounts totaling 2.4 billion XRP have never transacted, leaving their public keys unexposed—representing only 0.03% of XRP supply at risk. In contrast, about 32% of Bitcoin supply, including 1 million coins from creator Satoshi Nakamoto, faces greater quantum vulnerability. XRP Ledger's built-in key rotation feature allows users to update security keys without moving funds, an advantage Ethereum lacks, positioning it favorably as quantum technology advances.