Hardy Index Quantum readiness benchmark

Chain profile

XRP Ledger

XRP Committed

A dated four-phase roadmap targets full post-quantum transition by 2028, with ML-DSA already deployed on AlphaNet and a Q-Day contingency plan defined.

Is XRP Ledger quantum-safe?

No, not today. The XRP Ledger signs transactions with secp256k1 or Ed25519, both of which a sufficiently large quantum computer would break. What the XRP Ledger does have is one of the most concrete published transition plans in this index. In April 2026 Ripple set out a four-phase roadmap targeting full post-quantum readiness by 2028: a Q-Day contingency plan that would stop the network accepting classical signatures and let holders prove ownership through post-quantum zero-knowledge proofs; experimentation with NIST-standardised algorithms through the first half of 2026, with ML-DSA already deployed on AlphaNet by a core engineer; hybrid post-quantum and elliptic-curve signatures on Devnet in the second half of 2026; and a native post-quantum amendment for network-wide deployment targeting 2028. None of that is on mainnet yet, which is why the XRP Ledger sits in Tier 3 rather than Tier 2.

At a glance

On mainnet today

secp256k1 or Ed25519, selectable per account

Post-quantum scheme

ML-DSA under evaluation, deployed on AlphaNet; hybrid post-quantum and elliptic-curve signatures planned for Devnet

NIST standard

FIPS 204 (ML-DSA), finalised August 2024

Readiness tier

Tier 3: Committed. A funded roadmap with public dates and active research exists, but no post-quantum signature is live on mainnet.

Score breakdown

Each dimension scored 0 to 10. The weight beside it is its share of the total score.
Signature scheme 0 30% Deployment stage 5 25% NIST alignment 9 15% Migration path 9 15% Exposure 3 10% Verification 8 5%
Show the weighted arithmetic and the sourced note for each dimension
No. Dimension Score Weight Contribution
1 Signature scheme 0 30% 0.0
2 Deployment stage 5 25% 12.5
3 NIST alignment 9 15% 13.5
4 Migration path 9 15% 13.5
5 Exposure 3 10% 3.0
6 Verification 8 5% 4.0
Hardy Score 46.5

1 Signature scheme 0/10, weighted 30%

Band 0: Classical signatures only on mainnet, with nothing post-quantum protecting live funds. Short-lived devnets and one-off benchmarks sit here: they demonstrate research rather than something a user can hold keys on.

Mainnet transactions are signed with secp256k1 or Ed25519 and nothing post-quantum protects live XRP. ML-DSA has been deployed on AlphaNet, which is a pre-Devnet test network, so no post-quantum signature guards funds on the public ledger. source

2 Deployment stage 5/10, weighted 25%

Band 5: Tier 3: Committed.

Tier 3: Committed. The roadmap is funded, staffed, phased and dated to 2028, and post-quantum work is running on test networks, but no post-quantum signature is live on mainnet. source

3 NIST alignment 9/10, weighted 15%

Band 9 to 10: The scheme in use is covered by a final NIST standard (FIPS 204, FIPS 205, or SP 800-208).

The roadmap explicitly commits to NIST-standardised quantum-resistant algorithms and names ML-DSA, which is finalised as FIPS 204, as the scheme already running on AlphaNet. This is a committed selection of a final standard rather than a survey of candidates. source

Placement in the band Not a 10: ML-DSA is a final standard and a committed selection, but it runs on AlphaNet, a pre-Devnet network. A 10 would need the standardised scheme in use somewhere it protects something.

4 Migration path 9/10, weighted 15%

Band 9 to 10: Holders can migrate today, or the published plan is dated, specific, and executable under the chain’s existing governance.

The strongest migration thinking in the index. Phase 1 defines a Q-Day response in which classical signatures stop being accepted and holders migrate using post-quantum zero-knowledge proofs of key ownership, so funds can be rescued without revealing a compromised key. Native key rotation already exists on the ledger, and the amendment process is a proven governance route for consensus changes. source

Placement in the band Not a 10: holders cannot migrate today. The Q-Day mechanism is specific and executable under the existing amendment process, but it is a response awaiting an event rather than a route that is open now.

5 Exposure 3/10, weighted 10%

Band 3 to 5: Most active accounts have revealed a public key, or the chain has no live supply to assess.

XRP Ledger accounts are derived from a hash of the public key, but the key is published in the transaction that first sends from the account, so any account that has transacted is exposed. Native key rotation gives holders a mitigation that most account-model chains lack. source

Placement in the band The floor of the band: the key is published on an account's first send, so any account that has ever transacted is exposed, which is close to all of them. It is not a 2 because native key rotation is a real mitigation and never-sent accounts do keep a hashed address.

6 Verification 8/10, weighted 5%

Band 6 to 8: Open source with public review or a named third-party audit of the relevant component.

rippled is open source, the roadmap is published with named phases, and the post-quantum work is being run with an external partner, Project Eleven, on validator-level testing, Devnet benchmarking and a post-quantum custody wallet prototype rather than in-house only. source

Placement in the band The top of the band: Project Eleven is a named external partner running validator-level testing and Devnet benchmarking, which is closer to a third-party audit than open code alone. It stops short of 9 because the reviewed component sits on a test network rather than on the ledger.

The deployment dimension is not a separate judgement. It is Tier 3 expressed as a number. See the tier mapping.

How it compares

All 31 rated chains on the 0 to 100 scale. XRP Ledger is marked. Select any point to open that profile.
XRP Ledger 46.5

Nearest chains in the ranking

The 9 chains XRP Ledger sits among, out of 31 rated. The last column is the gap in Hardy points from XRP Ledger.

Rank Chain Tier Hardy vs XRP
5 Algorand 2: Shipping 77.5 +31.0
6 Nervos CKB 2: Shipping 75.5 +29.0
7 Bitcoin Cash 2: Shipping 66.0 +19.5
8 Solana 2: Shipping 54.5 +8.0
9 XRP Ledger this chain 3: Committed 46.5
10 Sui 3: Committed 45.5 -1.0
11 Hedera 3: Committed 42.0 -4.5
12 Stellar 3: Committed 41.0 -5.5
13 Zcash 3: Committed 41.0 -5.5

Roadmap

  1. 20 April 2026 shipped

    Ripple publishes a four-phase post-quantum roadmap for the XRP Ledger, targeting full readiness by 2028. source

  2. Phase 1 in-progress

    Post-quantum recovery and Q-Day readiness: a contingency under which classical public-key signatures would no longer be accepted, with post-quantum zero-knowledge proofs letting holders prove ownership and migrate without exposing keys. source

  3. Phase 2: first half of 2026 in-progress

    Formal experimentation with NIST-standardised algorithms, benchmarking signature size, verification cost and throughput under real XRPL workloads. ML-DSA deployed on AlphaNet; validator testing and custody prototypes with Project Eleven. source

  4. Phase 3: second half of 2026 planned

    Hybrid deployment of post-quantum and elliptic-curve signatures on Devnet, plus exploration of post-quantum primitives for zero-knowledge proofs and homomorphic encryption. source

  5. Phase 4: targeting 2028 planned

    A new amendment proposing native post-quantum cryptography for the XRPL, with network-wide deployment. source

Exposure

Exposure measures how much of the chain's value already sits behind a public key that an attacker can record today and break later. This is the part of the threat that a future upgrade cannot undo.

An XRP Ledger account address is derived from a hash of the account's public key, so a funded account that has never sent a transaction does not have its key on-chain. The key is published the first time the account signs, which means the large majority of economically active XRP is exposed. The ledger's native key rotation feature is a meaningful mitigation that most account-model chains do not offer: an account can be reassigned to a new signing key without moving funds, which becomes the migration primitive if the roadmap's post-quantum amendment lands.

What this rating means for you

If you hold XRP Ledger

XRP Ledger has a funded roadmap but no post-quantum signature protecting funds on mainnet yet. Until it ships, your exposure is the ordinary one, and the steps that reduce it cost nothing.

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Questions

Is XRP quantum-safe?

No. XRP Ledger transactions are signed with secp256k1 or Ed25519, both of which are broken by Shor's algorithm on a sufficiently large quantum computer. Ripple has published a four-phase roadmap targeting full post-quantum readiness by 2028, but no post-quantum signature protects XRP on mainnet today.

What is Ripple's timeline for making the XRP Ledger quantum-resistant?

Four phases, targeting 2028. Phase 1 is a Q-Day contingency plan. Phase 2, covering the first half of 2026, is experimentation with NIST-standardised algorithms and validator testing. Phase 3, in the second half of 2026, puts hybrid post-quantum and elliptic-curve signatures on Devnet. Phase 4, targeting 2028, proposes a native post-quantum amendment for network-wide deployment.

What happens to XRP holders if quantum computers arrive early?

Phase 1 of the roadmap is designed for exactly that. Under the Q-Day response plan, the network would stop accepting classical public-key signatures, and post-quantum zero-knowledge proofs would let existing account holders prove ownership and migrate their funds to quantum-safe accounts without exposing their keys, even in a compromised environment.

Who is Project Eleven and what is their role?

Project Eleven is an external partner Ripple named in the roadmap for validator-level testing, Devnet benchmarking and a post-quantum custody wallet prototype. Their involvement means the work is not being done inside Ripple alone, which is why the XRP Ledger scores 8 rather than lower on the verification dimension.

Sources

  1. Post-Quantum Readiness on the XRP Ledger Ripple · primary · checked 11 August 2026
  2. FIPS 204: Module-Lattice-Based Digital Signature Standard (ML-DSA) NIST · primary · checked 11 August 2026
  3. Ripple Unveils Four-Phase Roadmap to Make the XRP Ledger Quantum-Resistant by 2028 Unchained · secondary · checked 11 August 2026
Cite this rating

A rating is only true as of the day it was reviewed, so both forms below carry the review date and the methodology version. If you are quoting the score, quote those too.

Plain text

The Hardy Index (2026). XRP Ledger: quantum readiness assessment. Hardy Score 46.5 of 100, Tier 3: Committed. Methodology v1.4. Reviewed 2 October 2026. https://hardyindex.com/chains/xrp-ledger

BibTeX 
@misc{hardyindex_xrp_ledger_2026,
  author       = {{The Hardy Index}},
  title        = {XRP Ledger: quantum readiness assessment},
  year         = {2026},
  howpublished = {\url{https://hardyindex.com/chains/xrp-ledger}},
  note         = {Hardy Score 46.5 of 100, Tier 3: Committed. Methodology v1.4},
  urldate      = {2026-10-02}
}

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This is a security-readiness assessment, not investment advice.