Ripple and XRPL contributors have outlined a growing set of “institutional DeFi” building blocks on the XRP Ledger that aim to make the network viable for regulated financial activity, according to a blog on Thursday.
XRP’s utility as a bridging and settlement asset stands out as fundamental to that infrastructure, with use cases ranging from currency rails and stablecoins to tokenized collateral and native lending markets.
The latest roadmap emphasizes features already available such as multipurpose token (MPT) standards, permissioned domains with compliance tools, credential-backed access and batch transactions, along with upcoming releases that extend XRPL to credit markets and privacy-preserving workflows.
Unlike many smart contract chains that are implemented after the fact, XRPL’s approach has been to incorporate identity and control primitives at the protocol layer.
Authorized domains and credentials allow marketplaces to control the participation of verified entities, a requirement that institutions often cite as a barrier to on-chain integration.
On the payments and currency side, XRP’s role as an automatic bridge between assets continues to be cited as a demand driver, with stablecoin brokers and remittance flows adding to on-chain volume and fee activity. Token escrows and item reserves denominated in XRP further tie network usage to the native asset.
Looking ahead, the introduction of XLS-65/66 (the
Unique asset vaults, term loans, and optional authorization tools are designed to be familiar to institutional risk managers while operating in an on-chain settlement context.
Privacy features, such as confidential transfers for MPT, coming in the first quarter, aim to meet business and regulatory expectations around transaction-level anonymity and controlled disclosure.
Critics have long noted that XRPL’s lack of EVM-style programmability is a hindrance. The new EVM sidechain, connected via the Axelar network, is intended to address this by allowing Solidity developers to take advantage of XRPL’s identity and liquidity features while accessing familiar tools.
XRP prices are down 22% in the last seven days, in line with a broader market decline.
