Is Ripple (XRP) Quantum-Safe? A Top XRPL Validator Just Published a Full Audit

Quantum computing has become one of the biggest concerns in crypto after Google revealed that future machines could crack the encryption most blockchains rely on—and do it with less power than anyone expected. Bitcoin is the most exposed, with up to 35% of its supply sitting in old wallets that can’t be protected without moving the funds. XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) holders have been asking the same question: Is my XRP at risk too?

An XRPL validator just audited the entire XRP Ledger to find out. Only 0.03% of XRP’s supply is directly exposed through dormant accounts—far less than Bitcoin’s estimated 35%. The XRP Ledger also has built-in tools like key rotation that most blockchains don’t offer. But the live network still runs on the same encryption that quantum computers could eventually break, and the upgrades being tested on XRPL’s developer network haven’t reached the main chain yet.

How Much XRP Is Exposed to Quantum Risk?

When you make a transaction on any blockchain, your public key gets revealed to the network. A quantum computer powerful enough to run the right algorithm could work backwards from that public key to figure out your private key, and once it has that, it can drain your wallet. If you’ve never made a transaction, your public key has never been exposed, and a quantum attacker has nothing to work with.

Vet, a well-known XRPL validator, ran a full check across the XRP Ledger on April 7 and found that around 300,000 accounts have never sent a single transaction. Those accounts are quantum-safe right now because their public keys don’t exist anywhere on the network. Vet found only two dormant large-holder accounts with exposed keys, and the total XRP in those accounts works out to roughly 0.03% of the supply.

The 0.03% figure has been picked up widely, but it only counts old dormant accounts. Every active wallet that has ever sent XRP—including exchange wallets and institutional accounts—technically has an exposed public key too. Active users on XRPL can rotate their signing keys without changing their wallet address, which gives them a way to protect themselves before the threat arrives.

Bitcoin doesn’t have that option, and the exposure is much larger. Up to 35% of Bitcoin’s circulating supply sits in older address formats with permanently exposed keys. Holders who want to protect themselves have to move their funds to a new address—which exposes the key again during the transfer.

How the XRP Ledger Is Preparing for Post-Quantum Security

XRPL’s developer testnet, called AlphaNet, switched to quantum-resistant encryption back in December 2025—months before Google’s research made this a mainstream concern. Engineer Denis Angell confirmed that the testnet now runs on CRYSTALS-Dilithium, an algorithm the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology approved as its official post-quantum standard. Accounts, transactions, and even the way validators confirm activity on the network all use the new encryption on the testnet.

When the time comes to bring those upgrades to the live network, XRPL has a smoother path than most. Validators on the XRP Ledger can vote on encryption changes and roll them out without forcing a hard fork, which is when an entire blockchain has to shut down and restart on new rules. Bitcoin doesn’t have that flexibility—its upgrades depend on miner agreement, which moves slowly and has historically been one of the hardest things to coordinate in crypto.

None of this is live on the main XRP Ledger yet though. The mainnet still runs on the same type of encryption that every other major blockchain uses, and that quantum computers could eventually break. The testnet work proves the new encryption works, but until it reaches the live network, XRP holders are protected by key rotation and the low exposure Vet’s audit found rather than by new cryptography.

Should XRP Holders Be Worried About Quantum Computing?

No quantum computer can break any blockchain’s encryption today, so there’s no immediate risk to your XRP. Ripple’s own head of research, Aanchal Malhotra, put it best: “No wallets are getting cracked tomorrow. But the trendline is compressing faster than most of the industry is prepared for.” Google has set 2029 as its internal deadline to migrate to quantum-resistant security, and Grayscale’s latest report specifically named XRPL as one of the few networks already preparing for that shift.

So while the threat isn’t here yet, the clock is ticking. Ripple CTO David Schwartz said back in 2022 that the plan was to adopt quantum-resistant algorithms whenever the risk looks to be within about five years of materializing. With Google now pointing to 2029, that five-year window has officially arrived—and XRPL is one of the only major networks that’s already testing the encryption it’ll need on the other side.

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