The XRP Ledger Foundation has mapped out a way to let account owners add a quantum-resistant signing key and turn off the old one. The work is part of its 2027 protocol roadmap, updated on Nov. 4. The idea is simple enough: users would not pay more in fees for the protection, according to the design.
Why accounts need a new key
On the XRP Ledger, an account reveals a public key whenever it signs a transaction. The network uses that key to confirm the owner approved the payment. A powerful quantum computer could potentially work backward from that public key to the private secret that controls the account. That risk applies to any account that has ever sent a payment, including exchange wallets. Under the proposal, owners would add the new key and then disable the original one, closing the route an attacker might use.
ML-DSA-44 and the storage cost
The new key relies on ML-DSA-44, a signature scheme NIST approved in 2024 to resist quantum attacks. It is larger than the current setup. The key and signature together take 3,732 bytes, versus 105 bytes for a regular payment, adding about 3.6 KB to each protected transaction. When history and database overhead are counted, the Foundation estimates 5,331 bytes per protected payment against a 1,704-byte baseline. Users would not cover that cost. The proposal keeps the base fee unchanged, and because XRP Ledger fees are destroyed, the operators who run the network would absorb the extra storage. That detail matters because it shifts the burden away from everyday senders, though it does put more pressure on node operators.
Work still remains
The plan is not finished. Developers are fixing a mismatch in which the Python prototype and the server and JavaScript versions can generate different keys from one starting seed. They also have not published tests showing how the network performs when all validators use the new signatures. The roadmap sets aside $215,000 to $255,000 for review and auditing of this amendment, plus 640 hours of development. Across all 24 amendments on the roadmap, the budget runs from about $5 million to nearly $6 million. Ripple is targeting a full quantum transition by 2028. The Foundation’s migration study is scheduled for the first half of 2027, with development and auditing to follow in late 2027 or 2028. For now, the design gives XRP Ledger users a possible path to quantum-resistant accounts without a direct fee increase, but the testing and audit work will decide how soon it can arrive.
