Overview
- Ripple published a four‑phase plan on April 20, 2026, that commits the XRP Ledger to full quantum readiness by 2028 and includes an emergency 'Q‑Day' contingency for rapid migration if needed.
- The company is now in Phase 2, running live tests of NIST‑recommended algorithms ML‑DSA and Dilithium with Project Eleven to benchmark performance and build custody prototypes.
- An independent audit finds immediate exposure is small: just 0.03% of XRP supply sits in dormant accounts with exposed public keys, and XRPL supports replacing account keys without creating new accounts to ease migration.
- Technical tradeoffs remain significant because post‑quantum signatures like Dilithium are much larger—about 40 times current signatures—which could raise transaction size, bandwidth use, and storage needs if not optimized.
- Blockchain ecosystems are moving in parallel: Bitcoin and Ethereum developers are pursuing signature replacements, so cross‑chain standards, wallets, and exchange tooling will be key to a smooth industry‑wide transition.