Ripple Introduces Roadmap To Make XRP Ledger Quantum-Ready By 2028

Crypto firm Ripple has introduced a multi-phase roadmap to make the XRP Ledger (XRPL) quantum-ready by 2028, ahead of Google’s 2029 timeline for a transition to post-quantum cryptography (PQC). The firm noted that this roadmap aims to preserve the network’s strength while also preparing for disruptions should quantum computing evolve ahead of schedule.

Ripple Outlines Four-Phase Roadmap To Make XRP Ledger Quantum-Ready

In a blog post, Ripple introduced a four-phase roadmap to prepare the XRP Ledger for a post-quantum future, with a target for full readiness by 2028. The first roadmap focuses on post-quantum recovery, in which they plan to activate a contingency plan to allow for safe migration to PQC if classical cryptography breaks at any point.

Ripple’s engineer Ayo Akinyele stated that the XRP Ledger would enforce a “hard shift” if classical cryptography were to break. In this scenario, classical public-key signature standards will no longer be acceptable, and users will have to move their funds to post-quantum-secure accounts.

The crypto firm stated that one path they are exploring for the safe recovery of accounts is to use PQ-based zero-knowledge proofs to demonstrate ownership of existing keys without exposing them. “This approach leverages existing building blocks we have developed on XRPL in terms of seed-based key generation,” Akinyele noted.

It is worth noting that the XRP Ledger has integrated zero-knowledge proof technology, which could prove useful if the network decides to implement this approach for account migration and recovery.

The second phase of this roadmap will involve Ripple assessing the full impact of post-quantum cryptography on the XRPL and expanding experimentation with industry-standard, NIST-recommended algorithms. As part of this phase, the crypto firm is already collaborating with Project Eleven to accelerate early experimentation.

Ripple noted that Project Eleven is building a proof-of-concept hybrid post-quantum signing implementation to harden the XRP Ledger against future quantum threats. The firm noted that Project Eleven’s efforts have significantly helped move their timeline for the second phase.

The Third And Fourth Phases Will Focus On Transition

Akinyele revealed that the third and fourth phases of this Ripple roadmap will focus on the transition to post-quantum cryptography. Under the third phase, they will begin to integrate candidate post-quantum signature schemes alongside “existing elliptic curve signatures, starting on Devnet for application developer testing.”

At the same time, Ripple will also explore post-quantum-friendly primitives for ZK proof and homomorphic encryption. The Ripple engineer noted that this helps advance the XRP Ledger’s privacy and compliance capabilities for top tokenized real-world assets.

Meanwhile, the last phase involves a full transition for PQ signatures, which they aim to achieve by 2028. Under this phase, Ripple will move from experimentation to execution with the entire XRP Ledger ecosystem. Ripple will propose a new amendment to the ecosystem for native PQC and begin transitioning the network to PQC-based signatures at scale.

It is worth noting that XRP currently faces limited quantum exposure in comparison to other major coins, such as Bitcoin, which is at risk of an on-spend attack as quantum computing evolves. The Ripple blog post also highlighted how the XRP Ledger already has an advantage in preparing for a quantum future.

For example, the network supports native key rotation, which means that users can switch vulnerable private keys over time without the need to change their underlying account. Another advantage is XRPL’s seed-based key generation, which enables “deterministic derivation of new keys.” Ripple noted that these are not post-quantum solutions but give the network a solid foundation for being quantum-ready.