XRP Ledger to Vote on Major Upgrade

A slate of long-awaited protocol amendments for the XRP Ledger (XRPL) is expected to enter validator voting in roughly two weeks.

According to prominent XRPL validator Vet, the proposed changes include support for batch transactions, confidential transfers, sponsored fees and reserves, permission delegation, dynamic Multi-Purpose Tokens (MPTs), and a bundled bug fix. 

The release also contains substantial performance optimizations that will make nodes more efficient and improve network reliability. 

“If everything goes well,” Vet wrote on X, the amendments will be ready for voting in approximately two weeks.

A feature-packed upgrade

The upcoming package combines new functionality with infrastructure improvements.

For instance, Batch enables multiple transactions to be grouped together, and Confidential Transfers will conceal transaction amounts without compromising the ledger’s integrity. 

The proposal also includes Sponsored Fees and Reserves (XLS-68) that allow third parties to cover transaction fees and reserve requirements on behalf of users. 

At the same time, Permission Delegation would let users delegate specific permissions without handing over full control of an account. Dynamic MPT introduces enhancements to the ledger’s Multi-Purpose Token standard.

Vet said security-related initiatives had delayed feature development, but that work had now resumed.

“Yes, the security initiatives put everything else on hold. We can start resuming,” Vet wrote, describing the package as a “sweet mix” of performance improvements, new features, and fixes.

Reserve debate intensifies ahead of sponsored reserves launch

In the meantime, another governance discussion has emerged around whether XRPL’s reserve requirements should be lowered further.

Vet made clear he opposes reducing reserves under the current conditions. 

Back in the day, activating an account required 1,000 XRP during what was then known as the “create fee” era. Then, co-founder Jed McCaleb reduced that requirement to 200 XRP in 2013. 

Over the years, validators repeatedly lowered reserve levels. Today, activating an XRPL account requires a 1 XRP base reserve. 

Vet noted that he had supported previous reserve reductions but argued that storage and memory remain valuable network resources, particularly as demand for computing infrastructure has increased during the AI boom.

“The architects designed reserves as a deliberate protective mechanism of network resources, storage & memory, against spam and DDoS attacks,” he wrote.