Quantum Risk Threatens 76B XRP in Dormant Wallets

Study finds 76.82B XRP quantum exposed as dormant wallets raise security concerns and challenge future migration plans on XRPL

A new XRPL account study has raised fresh concern about quantum computing and blockchain security. The report says 76.82 billion XRP may be quantum exposed, while dormant wallets remain the hardest part of any future migration plan.

Dormant Wallets Raise Security Questions

Dormant accounts are the main concern in the report. The study said quantum-exposed accounts inactive for at least five years hold 2.94% of XRP supply.

That amount equals 3.83% of all exposed XRP. The report said this group includes 1.33 million accounts, based on the dormancy review.

Older accounts carry a different risk profile. Accounts touched only once before 2014 hold 0.02% of total XRP supply. They also represent 0.03% of exposed XRP.

Vet wrote, “We have no insights why an account is dormant.” He said some owners may have lost keys, forgotten accounts, or become unable to act.

The issue creates a policy question for blockchain communities. Networks may need quantum-safe upgrades, but dormant wallets may not move funds in time.

XRPL Study Finds Wide Quantum Exposure

An XRP Ledger validator known as “Vet” said he scanned 7,810,364 XRP Ledger accounts. The review focused on public key exposure across the full XRPL history.

The study found that 5.6 million accounts are quantum exposed. These accounts have signed at least one transaction, which placed their public keys on-chain.

According to the report, 76.82 billion XRP sits in exposed accounts. About 96% of that exposed XRP belongs to active accounts.

These accounts are expected to move if quantum-safe tools become available.

The study also found that 23.16 billion XRP remains quantum safe. These accounts either never signed a transaction or used key rotation and disabled master keys.

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Multi-Sig and Key Rotation Offer Partial Protection

The report said XRPL has tools that can help active users manage future security risks. These include key rotation, disabled master keys, and multi-signature accounts.

However, the study said multi-signature wallets are not automatically safe. It found 242 multi-sig wallets holding 36.60 billion XRP with signer keys already on-chain.

The report said safe multi-sig use requires careful signer-key rotation. It also said single-key rotation protects an account only until the user needs to spend.

Vet wrote that “moving funds for those who can is trivial.” He added that dormant accounts remain the hard part of the quantum security debate.

The study also compared the issue with Bitcoin. It noted that Satoshi-era BTC holdings may not move to quantum-safe addresses.

For XRP, the report frames the current risk as future-based rather than immediate.

Quantum computers would need enough power to reconstruct private keys from exposed public keys.

XRP was recently trading near $1.38, with softer weekly activity reported in the market snapshot. The study has shifted attention from price action to long-term account security.