XRP Ledger is gearing up for significant upgrades that are generating excitement within the cryptocurrency community. The network is currently involved in discussions and proposals regarding compliance, smart contracts, automation, traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi), expanded features, sidechains, and improved user experience. These developments are expected to solidify XRP Ledger’s position as a leading player in the digital asset industry.
Krippenreiter, a prominent researcher specializing in XRP Ledger and distributed ledger technology (DLT), has provided an extensive list of upcoming enhancements for XRP Ledger. Via a Twitter thread, Krippenreiter shares the comprehensive roadmap, highlighting all the proposals, discussions, and ongoing developments.
One notable upgrade in the works is the Decentralized Identifier (DID) feature. This functionality allows users to share and control their digital identities on the XRPL, while the associated personal data is stored off-chain. The use cases for DID include reusable Know Your Customer (KYC) processes and a permissioned, regulated, and compliant decentralized exchange (DEX). The amendment for this feature is currently undergoing voting, and a bug fix is expected in the upcoming v2.2.0 release.
Another significant enhancement is the XChainBridge amendment, which facilitates cross-chain asset transfers between independent ledgers, such as the XRPL (mainchain) and an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-based sidechain. This amendment enables the addition of wrapped XRP as a native asset on a sidechain and promotes EVM interoperability. Voting is currently underway for this amendment, with a bug fix slated for the v2.2.0 release.
The introduction of price oracles is yet another upgrade being considered. Price oracles would retrieve off-chain data from an Oracle provider and incorporate it into the XRPL for decentralized applications (dApps), DEXs, and other XRPL-based protocols. This feature serves as an updated automated market maker (AMM) version. The amendment for price oracles is presently undergoing voting, and a bug fix is scheduled for inclusion in the v2.2.0 release.
Additionally, there are several amendments under discussion, including the Managed Single Asset Tokenized Pool, Sponsored Fees and Reserves, NFToken Escrows, a proposed Lending Protocol, and Atomic/Batch Transactions. XRPL Plugins and Hooks are also in the draft stage.
The proposed Lending Protocol would enable decentralized lending on the XRPL by utilizing single-asset pool funds to offer fixed-term loans with predefined interest conditions. The Atomic/Batch Transactions Status feature allows up to eight transactions to be grouped together as a single unit, simplifying automation in a “smart-contract-like” manner.
With these upgrades and discussions in progress, the XRP Ledger is poised for a significant evolution, showcasing its commitment to continuous growth and innovation.