Overview
- The Foundation published a formal proposal in November 2026 to let accounts register ML-DSA-44 post‑quantum signatures and then disable their old signing keys, with a target to complete a full network transition by 2028.
- ML-DSA-44 is the NIST‑standardized post‑quantum signature chosen by the proposal and its public key plus signature together total about 3,732 bytes, rising to an estimated 5,331 bytes per protected payment when history and database overhead are included.
- The design keeps the XRP Ledger’s base transaction fee unchanged so end users would not pay higher per‑transaction fees, which shifts long‑term storage and bandwidth costs to validator and node operators instead of account holders.
- The proposal remains under development: an AlphaNet test branch and prototypes exist, developers have found key‑derivation inconsistencies across implementations, a migration study is scheduled for H1 2027, and any mainnet change will need security audits and validator approval.
- Adoption depends on action by human operators and firms—exchanges, custodians and wallet vendors must update systems and actively retire old keys, the Foundation estimates non‑development costs at about $215,000–$255,000 for audits and reference work, and accounts that do not disable legacy keys remain exposed.