Ripple Unveils Roadmap for Post-Quantum Recovery

With concerns over the potential impact on crypto markets from quantum computing growing, Ripple has published a roadmap to prepare the XRP Ledger for a post-quantum future.

Just weeks after Google Quantum AI published a paper highlighting a rapid advance in both the capabilities and timeline for the quantum threat, Ripple says it has commenced work of protecting XRP, with a target date for rollout of 2028 – one year before the researchers at Google believed quantum could provide a credible threat to crypto markets.

Ripple says it is working with Project Eleven to accelerate development, including validator testing and early custody prototypes and that the roadmap also includes a “Quantum-Day” contingency plan to enable a secure migration to quantum-safe accounts if current standards are compromised. “The threat has moved from theoretical to credible, and preparation timelines now matter,” Ripple states.

The first phase of the roadmap is post-quantum recover, which means Ripple will have a contingency plan for if there is a threat in the short term. “XRPL would enforce a hard shift: classical public-key signature standards are no longer accepted by the network, and funds must move to post-quantum secure accounts,” the firm explains.

After that, the firm will move to extensive testing and planning for the full impact of the post-quantum world, before execution of the plan in 2028.

“The key takeaway is that the quantum threat is real, evidenced not only by ongoing improvements to quantum computing hardware and algorithmic resource estimates (e.g. Shor), but also by the fact that NIST has already finalised post-quantum cryptography standards,” Ripple says. “What sets XRPL apart is that we’re not starting from zero. The architectural foundations are already in place, the cryptographic expertise is already at work, and the roadmap is already in motion.”