Ripple has introduced a four-phase plan to transition the XRP Ledger to post-quantum cryptography (PQC) standards. The company expects to complete the migration by 2028. The strategy is driven by economic pragmatism and the goal of protecting against "harvest now, decrypt later" attacks—where attackers collect encrypted data to decrypt once quantum hardware becomes powerful enough.
Ripple's approach to a "Q-Day" scenario includes emergency protocols: forced migration and the implementation of post-quantum zero-knowledge proofs. This will allow users to prove ownership of accounts without exposing compromised keys.
In early 2026, active testing will begin under the Project Eleven initiative. During this phase, the company will conduct validator testing and create early custody prototypes. Instead of an abrupt switch that could disrupt the network, Ripple has chosen a hybrid deployment: post-quantum signatures will run alongside existing elliptic curve cryptography. The company emphasizes that gradual migration is critical for a live financial network to avoid systemic shocks. The final goal is full PQC integration into the core XRPL ecosystem by 2028.
From our perspective, Ripple's actions serve as a signal to the market. Preemptive XRPL updates place other L1 protocols under the necessity of audit. Any network without a clear PQC transition plan risks becoming a liability for institutional investors. For fintech leaders, this means the waiting period is over. If digital asset infrastructure does not account for 2028-level threats now, it is essentially operating on borrowed time.