Ripple bets XRPL lending can give XRP a future beyond payments as price struggles
Ripple is pushing the XRP Ledger beyond payments into institutional credit. It backs a proposed lending upgrade that would let approved institutions borrow against onchain assets such as stablecoins and tokenized instruments, while keeping underwriting and compliance off-chain. The ledger would handle loan execution, interest, repayment, and defaults through two standards: XLS-65 for single-asset vaults and XLS-66 for fixed-term lending. The design sits between public DeFi and permissioned finance: public infrastructure with credential-based access where needed. If approved, XRPL could become a broader institutional finance layer, not just a payments network. The move also supports Ripple’s stablecoin RLUSD and fits rising demand for collateralized, transparent crypto lending after 2022’s failures. XRP itself would not automatically gain direct lending demand, but more activity on XRPL strengthens the token’s role as the native asset for fees and network function.
