The XRP Ledger has proposed a quantum-resistant account upgrade designed to protect cryptocurrency wallets against future computing threats. The system would allow users to replace existing signing keys without paying higher transaction fees, according to the proposal.
New Security Features for Crypto Wallets
The upgrade would enable XRP Ledger users to register quantum-resistant keys and disable their existing signatures. Account holders could adopt the new system without changing how they store or access their assets.
Currently, XRP Ledger transactions can expose public keys when users authorize payments through their cryptocurrency wallets. In the future, exposed keys might allow an account to be broken using advanced quantum computers and existing cryptographic techniques. The design aims to mitigate this risk before such attacks become practical on blockchain networks.
Earlier, XRP Ledger proposed changes to prevent unauthorized stablecoin minting, introducing controls over how approved partners issue digital tokens.
Quantum-Resistant Signatures Would Maintain Existing XRP Fees
Developers selected ML-DSA-44, a digital signature standard that the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) approved in 2024. The proposed signature system requires 3,732 bytes for public keys and signatures, increasing transaction data requirements. With database overhead, each protected payment would use 5,331 bytes of storage, whereas the current payment uses only 1,704 bytes of storage.
The Foundation plans to keep the base fees the same for the network, despite the extra network storage needed. In another development, the XRP Ledger Batch amendment went live, allowing users to combine multiple transactions into one operation.
Ripple’s 2028 Quantum Security Plans Require Further Testing
The Foundation has planned for the quantum migration study to take place in the first half of 2027, and development will be ongoing after that. Developers are working on inconsistencies in the key generation between the Python, JavaScript and server versions of the proposed system.
The roadmap is to spend between $215,000 and $255,000 on technical reviews and security audits and 640 development hours. Separately, Ripple approved an XRP Ledger proposal covering sponsored transaction fees and reserves, allowing another party to cover certain account costs. Tests of the complete performance of the validators for the proposed quantum-resistant signatures have not been published by the Foundation yet.
