XRP Ledger switches to quantum-resistant signatures, 2,420-byte proofs replace elliptic curve.
XRP Ledger (XRPL) is closing out the year with a series of significant upgrades, focusing on long-term security and ecosystem scalability. On December 24th, engineer Denis Angell (XRPL Labs) confirmed that AlphaNet has integrated post-quantum cryptography with its native smart contract, marking a major step forward in ledger architecture.
This update aims to address the risk of “Q-Day”—the point at which quantum computers become powerful enough to break the ECC cryptography currently used by Bitcoin and Ethereum. AlphaNet now operates with CRYSTALS-Dilithium (ML-DSA), an algorithm standardized by NIST for the post-quantum era.
The network underwent a complete restructuring with Quantum Accounts, Quantum Transactions, and Quantum Consensus, forcing both users and validators to adopt a new signature mechanism. While Dilithium signatures are larger, increasing bandwidth and storage costs, AlphaNet served as a testbed to evaluate these trade-offs.
Simultaneously, native smart contracts helped XRPL close the competitive gap with Ethereum and Solana, paving the way for DeFi and on-chain applications that go beyond traditional payment functionality.
