According to Woofun AI, Ripple is pushing hard to complete a full transition of the XRP Ledger (XRPL) to a quantum-resistant encryption system before 2028, in order to counter the potential hacking threat posed by quantum computers.
This strategy aims to safeguard existing accounts and assets while raising the network's overall defensive level, with its core lying in achieving a seamless security upgrade through technical verification and node consensus.
According to information released by Ripple and the XRP Ledger Foundation on the 10th (Korea time), the plan strictly follows the four-phase roadmap published on April 20.
In the second half of this year, a developer network will begin testing, allowing existing electronic signatures and quantum-resistant signatures to be used in parallel.
Data compiled by Woofun AI shows that the key to the transition lies in a key rotation feature, which lets users change their transaction signing keys without changing their account addresses, thereby greatly reducing the burden of migration.
To this end, Ripple is working with Project Eleven to investigate system vulnerabilities and develop a prototype custodial wallet that combines both old and new signatures.
Currently, the XRP Ledger is considering the introduction of the ML-DSA-44 signature method standardized by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Although the relevant proposal is still in draft form, the XRP Ledger Foundation has already planned to conduct research in the first half of 2027, and to continue advancing development, testing, and security audits from the second half of 2027 through 2028.
The external driving force accelerating this process comes from research published in March by Google (GOOGL.US)'s quantum AI team.
The research points out that cracking 256-bit elliptic curve cryptography may require fewer than 1,200 logical qubits, far below previous expectations, a conclusion seen as a warning signal that the blockchain industry must speed up the replacement of existing encryption methods.
However, quantum-resistant technology causes public keys and signature data to grow in size, which in turn affects transaction processing speed, storage space, and network costs.
Ayo Akinyele, General Manager of Ripple X Engineering, emphasized that the goal is to have a practical, ready-to-use solution in place before the quantum threat actually emerges, rather than reacting passively.
From a structural perspective, the XRP Ledger's quantum security transition is not only a technical iteration but also a test of the network's consensus mechanism.
Introducing new encryption standards while keeping existing account addresses unchanged requires balancing performance loss against security gains.
This is a key defensive reconstruction of the cryptographic underlying architecture by a mainstream public chain, following the challenges now facing traditional public key infrastructure, and its success or failure will directly affect industry standards for asset custody and transaction efficiency going forward.
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