Ripple is preparing XRP Ledger's antiquator safety program in advance. The company stated that the road map would be advanced in a phased manner by establishing emergency protection, testing new algorithms and running old and new encryption programmes in parallel with the development and testing of networks, with the ultimate goal of facilitating the upgrading of the XRPL main network by 2028.
Four phases to advance the upgrade
Ripple divided the plan into four steps. The first step is to establish a quantum-risk emergency programme. If existing encryption fails earlier than expected, the user can move the account to a safer solution without exposing the private key.
The second step is to test the antiquant algorithm. The third step will take place in the second half of 2026, when Ripple plans to keep the antiquator program running in parallel with the existing encryption in Devnet and Testnet, so that developers can test compatibility and migration processes in advance.
The fourth step points to the main network. Ripple plans to submit an XRPL code amendment proposal in 2028 to facilitate a web-wide transition to a security system with quantum resistance.
Existing functionality reduces the difficulty of migration
XRPL currently has two functions which are considered to facilitate subsequent upgrading. One is the key rotation, which the user can replace without creating a new account. The second is a key generation mechanism based on the Seed that helps users generate new key materials in future security upgrades.
Ripple also mentioned that these functions do not in themselves amount to antiquator programmes, but provide the basis for subsequent migration and reduce the complexity of rebuilding the account system.
Continue testing in 2026. Target main in 2028. Network
The project was led by Ayo Akinyele, Senior Engineering Director of Ripple, with the participation of the Applied Password Team. The central judgement given by Ripple is that quantum computing may, in the future, decrypt existing encryption systems, including elliptical curve encryption, and therefore needs to be prepared before the real risk comes.
According to the current schedule, Ripple ' s next focus is on continuous testing in 2026, while the full protocol migration target at the main network level is 2028.