The rise of quantum computing has sparked concerns about the security of legacy blockchains, with Google warning that a sufficiently powerful machine could potentially exploit them. For XRP holders, experts suggest that the token's architecture provides better protection against quantum threats than Bitcoin's. This is due to the XRP Ledger's open-source, decentralized nature and features like key rotation, which allows users to change their signing key without moving funds. A recent audit found that around 300,000 XRP accounts, holding 2.4 billion XRP, have never sent funds and are thus quantum-safe by default.
In contrast, Bitcoin's blockchain is more vulnerable, with around 6.9 million BTC at risk, equivalent to nearly 35% of its circulating supply. The lack of a key rotation feature in Bitcoin means that holders must move funds to a new address to protect against quantum attacks, but this process itself exposes the public key to potential exploitation. While Bitcoin developers are working on quantum resistance proposals, XRP's existing features provide a level of protection against these threats.