XRP Ledger Engineer: Quantum May Crack Crypto's Code by 2028, and AI Is the Intern Holding the Wrench 🧠

XRP Ledger engineer J. Ayo Akinyele said quantum computing could pose a serious threat to blockchain security as early as 2028, and that recent advances in artificial intelligence may accelerate that timeline. Speaking on the Voice of Web3 podcast with CoinGape CEO Sunil Sharma, Akinyele explained that he had revised his earlier estimate on quantum risk to account for AI-assisted progress in quantum hardware engineering. "The thing that has changed my perspective on that is the introduction of AI to help with building quantum computing hardware that is reliable," Akinyele said, pointing to Nvidia's release of open source models aimed at that field.

Akinyele said the investment flowing into AI-driven quantum research is likely to bear fruit in the coming months and years. "Nvidia released their open source models in this direction that I think really didn't get a lot of attention. But, I think in the coming months and years, we'll see the fruits of the investment that they're making on that side. That may speed up that possibility," he said.

Quantum computing has been a recurring topic of debate across the crypto industry, with developers and researchers weighing the timeline for when current cryptographic standards could be broken. Akinyele's remarks come amid broader policy moves in Washington, where U.S. President Trump recently signed two executive orders related to the sector, according to the source discussion. The orders, referenced in the original report, were not fully detailed in the available material.

Akinyele's role at XRP Ledger places him among the engineers responsible for evaluating the network's cryptographic assumptions and planning future upgrades. His comments add a specific timeline to a debate that has largely been framed in longer-term terms by other protocol developers. He did not name any specific blockchain as more or less exposed to quantum risk in the available remarks.

The crypto industry has been debating the prospect of quantum computing for months, with figures from across the sector weighing the pace of progress. Akinyele's estimate of 2028 and his emphasis on AI as a speed-multiplier mark one of the more concrete timelines offered publicly by a working protocol engineer to date.