Ripple is preparing XRP Ledger for quantum computers before ‘Q-Day’ arrives
Ripple is developing a multi-stage plan to make the XRP Ledger quantum-resistant before quantum computers become a threat to current cryptographic standards. The project focuses on long-term infrastructure evolution rather than emergency patches.
Why it matters
As quantum computing advances, financial infrastructure faces potential security risks; this proactive approach highlights the industry's shift toward post-quantum cryptography.
“The goal is not to wait until quantum computing becomes an immediate threat,” Ayo Akinyele, senior director of engineering at Ripple, told CoinDesk. “It is to make sure critical financial infrastructure can evolve well before that point without disrupting the systems, assets and users that depend on it.”
It is theorized a sufficiently powerful quantum computer could eventually break some of the mathematical protections used by blockchains and banks today. That would allow an attacker, in some cases, to work backwards from publicly available information and calculate the private keys used to control assets.
Researchers often call the point at which such machines become practical “Q-Day.”
But Ripple is treating the problem as a long-term infrastructure project rather than a last-minute software patch.
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