This XRP Ledger Feature Could Matter Big for RLUSD

Ripple stablecoin product lead Lauren Berta has highlighted an upcoming XRP Ledger feature that could matter greatly for the RLUSD stablecoin: permission delegation.

Version 3.3.0 of xrpld, the reference server implementation of the XRP Ledger protocol, released earlier this month, introduced XLS-75—’PermissionDelegationV1_1: Granular account Permission Delegation.’

The Permission Delegation amendment is currently up for validator voting on the XRP Ledger, and according to Berta, has the potential to unlock an important capability for institutions issuing regulated assets on XRPL.

In a lengthy threaded post, Berta explains why permission delegation matters for RLUSD and every regulated token on the ledger. Currently, an XRPL token issuer account controls key functions like minting, freezing, clawback, or trust line authorization. For regulated issuers, those responsibilities often sit across different teams such as compliance, operations, security, and others.

The Permission Delegation feature is designed to reflect this reality as it allows issuers to delegate specific actions to separate accounts while keeping the issuer account secure. Berta cited an instance where the compliance team gets freeze and clawback, Ops gets mint and burn, and a KYC provider gets trust line authorization, while each team uses its own keys.

Berta noted that this separation of duties is how stablecoin issuers operate on other chains, with different teams being responsible for different functions. The Ripple stablecoin product lead added that Permission Delegation will enable this same operational structure for RLUSD on the XRP Ledger, natively at the protocol level, which is entirely distinct from multisig.

Multisig vs Permission Delegation

While multisig requires parties to approve a transaction, delegation authorizes an account to perform a specific action on another’s behalf.

“One splits approval authority. The other splits responsibilities,” Berta added, noting that multisig and permission delegation solve different problems. Importantly, delegation does not mean giving up control.

Permission delegation remains essential as stablecoin issuers, RWA tokenizers, and asset managers bringing regulated instruments onchain need ways to separate the teams moving assets, enforcing compliance, and managing security.

While permission delegation is currently in validator voting, in parallel, the RLUSD team is building and testing the functionality on devnet in preparation for its activation.  

In a notable milestone, Ripple USD (RLUSD) stablecoin total circulating supply has topped $2 billion.