The Crypto Desk desk. Editor: Sam Daodu.
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The XRP Ledger Foundation’s 2027 protocol plan proposes quantum-proof accounts for the network behind XRP (CRYPTO:XRP). The upgrade would allow accounts, validators, and validator-list publishers to use a new signature scheme called ML-DSA-44, built to withstand future quantum computers. The foundation estimates the work at 640 build hours plus 400 hours of code review from Ripple and a $100,000 security audit. Ripple targets 2028 for quantum preparation, in line with its quantum-resistant roadmap.
XRP currently trades at $1.04, down 6% over the past 24 hours and 42.5% since the beginning of the year. So what should XRP holders do if validators approve the upgrade?
What 640 Build Hours of Quantum Work Buys the XRP Ledger
ML-DSA-44 is the smallest version of ML-DSA, a signature standard published by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as FIPS 204 on August 13, 2024. The XRP Ledger’s draft specification, XLS discussion #295, introduces a new key type called dilithium alongside the existing secp256k1 and Ed25519 keys. The change would cover every signature the ledger produces and would only take effect if validators approve an amendment called Quantum.
Funding for this project differs from a traditional corporate product launch. According to the foundation’s roadmap, its 2027 budget covers a set number of items, and the chief technology officer and the director of community and product decide which ones to build once the budget is approved. Security projects like Quantum go to the front of the line.
The plan puts the total cost at $215,000 to $255,000 and prices Ripple’s code review at $100 to $200 per hour. Quantum-safe signatures are also larger than the current ones, so each signed transaction would take up 5,331 bytes, roughly three times the size of a typical payment.
The initial audience includes exchanges, custodians, and issuers, with regulated institutions close behind. NIST has said it “will deprecate quantum-vulnerable public-key cryptography after 2030 and disallow its use under NIST standards and guidelines after 2035.” So banks may eventually need ledgers that support the new signature schemes.
Holders Keep Their Address but Would Have to Retire the Old Key
Under the ledger’s current rules, any key pair can act as a master key or a backup “regular key,” regardless of the algorithm used. So self-custody holders could add an ML-DSA-44 key to their existing account while keeping their current address. However, to protect the account, they would also need to disable the old master key, because an active old key could still sign transactions.
The timing of the migration is left to individual account holders and operators, so inactive accounts keep their old keys. Ripple warns that “every time an account signs a transaction, its public key becomes visible onchain.” However, the plan doesn’t set a deadline for updates or say what happens to accounts that never upgrade.
For XRP held on exchanges, the exchange controls the keys, so it would need to migrate its wallets. Shareholders in the Bitwise XRP ETF (NYSEARCA:XRP) only hold shares of the fund, so the fund’s custodian would manage any key updates.
Validators Still Have to Approve the Quantum Amendment
Before the upgrade can launch, validators have to approve it. The plan notes that “nothing here is promised,” and the amendment takes effect only if validators vote for it, the same process behind the native lending vote. The specification is still labeled Draft, and public input has been thin. The only outside feedback came from a post-quantum security company, which sells products into this exact market.
The proposal rates Quantum’s market fit at 7 out of 12, noting that no competing blockchain offers native post-quantum accounts yet. However, a technology lead doesn’t always turn into market value, as Stellar’s head start in tokenized assets shows, with XRP still worth far more.
Bitcoin faces a similar problem with a different fix. According to Glassnode, 35.4% of all Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC), about 7.12 million coins, has a public key that future quantum computers could target. Moving those coins to new addresses ends the exposure, and one company has already cited the risk when it cleared the sale of its Bitcoin.
Will XRP Holders Have to Move Their Coins?
No. If validators approve the Quantum amendment and it goes live on mainnet before Ripple’s 2028 target, self-custody holders would add a new key and disable their old master key while keeping the same address. For XRP held on exchanges or in ETFs, key migration would fall to custodians. Until validators decide, XRP holders don’t need to do anything.
The upgrade helps XRP’s price only indirectly. Ripple and the foundation gain a selling point with banks and custodians facing NIST deadlines, and holders gain insurance against future theft, which protects the coin’s value but doesn’t create new demand. That’s a narrower claim than David Schwartz’s argument that XRP should gain if the ledger succeeds.
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Sam Daodu is a crypto analyst and the editor of 24/7 Wall St.'s Crypto Desk, where he covers Bitcoin, XRP, Ethereum, Solana and the altcoins investors search for most. His work focuses on price levels, spot ETF flows, on-chain data and the regulatory decisions that move crypto markets, written so a first-time buyer and a seasoned trader can both use it.
Sam has written about crypto professionally since 2019 and has published more than 2,000 articles. Before joining 24/7 Wall St., he wrote for crypto media outlets and Web3 companies and ghostwrote for crypto founders and token launches. His analysis is syndicated on Yahoo Finance, MSN and AOL and has been cited by other crypto news sites. He also founded MacLabs Marketing, a content and personal branding agency for crypto founders and executives.
When he isn't reading charts, Sam is usually at the gym or watching One Piece, a series he maintains has better tokenomics than most altcoins.
