XRP · Security

XRP Ledger maps out quantum-resistant accounts with no extra user fees, but nothing changes for holders before 2027

By VoxTradePro Desk · Published 10 Nov 2026, 13:00 UTC+8 · 4 min read

The XRP Ledger Foundation's 2027 roadmap lets accounts add an ML-DSA-44 quantum-resistant key and switch off the old one. What it means for XRP holders.

Every XRP account that has ever sent a payment has already shown the world its public key. Today that is harmless. A large enough quantum computer could, in theory, work backward from that key to the secret that controls the funds.

The XRP Ledger Foundation has now published a concrete design to close that gap, and CoinDesk reported on 10 November that it would not raise fees for users. Here is what is actually proposed, what it costs, and what, if anything, holders need to do.

Key takeaways

The Foundation's 2027 protocol roadmap, updated 4 November, includes a "Quantum" amendment that adds the ML-DSA-44 signature scheme (XRPL Foundation).
Account owners would add a quantum-resistant key and then switch off their old one, according to CoinDesk.
The base fee stays the same; network operators absorb the extra storage.
A migration study is planned for the first half of 2027, with development and audit in late 2027 or 2028. Validators must vote it in.
XRP traded near $1.095 on CoinGecko at about 13:00 Macau time, down about 12.7% over seven days.

What the plan actually does

ML-DSA is a signature standard that the US National Institute of Standards and Technology finalised as FIPS 204 on 13 August 2024. NIST describes it as believed to be secure even against an attacker with a large-scale quantum computer.

The draft spec (XRPL-Standards #295) adds a new key type, `dilithium`, next to the two the ledger uses today. It would work for ordinary accounts and also for validators, the servers that agree on the ledger's history.

The important detail is opt-in migration. Protection only applies once an owner adds the new key and disables the old one. An account that does nothing keeps its current exposure.

The cost, in numbers

Quantum-resistant signatures are big. CoinDesk, citing the Foundation's study, put the new key plus signature at 3,732 bytes, against 105 bytes for a regular payment. Counting history and database overhead, a protected payment needs about 5,331 bytes of storage versus a 1,704-byte baseline.

A quick worked example

Take those storage figures at face value. 5,331 divided by 1,704 is roughly 3.1. So if every payment on the ledger were protected, storage per payment would be about three times today's level.

That is why the "no extra fees" point matters. XRP fees are destroyed rather than paid to operators, so the extra load lands on the people running servers, not on users. Whether operators accept that trade-off is part of what the validator vote will decide.

The roadmap prices review and audit of this amendment at $215,000 to $255,000, plus 640 hours of development work.

What is still unfinished

The Foundation's own feasibility study lists open items. One prototype derives keys differently from the server and JavaScript versions, so the same seed can produce different keys. A shared test-vector file does not exist yet, and results for a network where all validators use the new signatures have not been published.

None of this is unusual for a draft. It does mean the plan is a roadmap, not a shipped feature. The Foundation itself says nothing on the roadmap is promised.

Our take: why this matters for traders

Quantum risk is a slow-moving story, but it is becoming a talking point across crypto, including for Bitcoin, whose older coins also sit behind exposed public keys. A chain that can show a dated, costed path to quantum-resistant signatures has a cleaner answer when that question comes up.

The flip side is timing. With migration work set for 2027 and beyond, this is unlikely to change XRP's supply or demand any time soon. XRP's 12.7% weekly drop happened alongside a broad crypto sell-off, and one roadmap item is unlikely to reverse that on its own.

Practical points for holders:

No action is needed today. The amendment is not live, and new key types cannot be used until validators enable it.
Ignore anyone asking you to "upgrade" your wallet now. Fake migration offers are a common scam pattern around protocol news.
Coins on an exchange will depend on that exchange migrating its own wallets. Our guide on keeping crypto safe on an exchange covers the trade-offs.
If you trade XRP on news, size positions with a plan; see risk management basics. You can practise on the paper trading terminal first.

Bottom line

The XRP Ledger now has a specific, costed design for quantum-resistant accounts, with no fee increase for users. It is still a draft with a 2027-2028 timeline and a validator vote ahead. For now it is a long-term security story worth tracking on the XRP page, not a short-term price driver.

Sources

Not financial advice. This article is for general information and education only. It is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any asset. Prices move quickly and figures quoted may already be out of date; markets involve risk, including the loss of capital. See our disclaimer.

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