The proposal to introduce a native lending protocol on the XRP Ledger is facing a standstill, with validator support stuck at 60% as of November 8. This leaves the decentralized credit amendment well short of the backing required to initiate the activation period, despite some early momentum at the beginning of November.
Validator votes stall for lending and vault proposals
According to the November 8 snapshot of XRPL validator activity, the key LendingProtocol amendment has secured 21 approvals out of 35 reliable validators. This number has not changed since November 6, when validator support first reached the 60% mark by increasing from 19 to 21 approvals. However, the proposal still needs 29 total approvals to trigger the necessary two-week activation period, an increase of eight additional votes.
XRP Ledger, commonly known as XRPL, is an open-source blockchain designed for fast, low-cost asset transfer and decentralized finance (DeFi) applications.
The proposed lending system is underpinned by three separate amendments. Both LendingProtocol and an updated LendingProtocolV1_1 have received 21 votes each, while the associated SingleAssetVault amendment has gained slightly more support, with 23 approvals—about 65.7% of trusted validators.
This vault-related proposal requires six additional votes to reach the activation threshold, compared with eight for the two lending protocol amendments. Despite ongoing discussion in the validator community and incremental progress since late October, none of the proposals has crossed the crucial 80% majority line.
Validator support for activating XRP Ledger lending has not increased since November 6, with the LendingProtocol amendment holding steady at 21 approvals out of 35 trusted validators.
The November amendment snapshot showed no change in majority status or activation timelines for any of the lending-related proposals.
It is important to note that activating the vault component on its own will not result in a fully operational lending system. The complete launch depends on additional amendments gaining broad validator backing.
| Amendment | Current Votes | Votes Needed for Activation | Current Support (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| LendingProtocol | 21 | 8 | 60% |
| LendingProtocolV1_1 | 21 | 8 | 60% |
| SingleAssetVault | 23 | 6 | 65.7% |
Design and features of the proposed XLS-66 lending amendment
The XLS-66 Lending Protocol, if implemented, would allow users to originate and manage fixed-term loans directly through XRPL’s core functions. Unlike many decentralized lending platforms that automatically liquidate collateral through smart contracts, this framework is designed to use off-chain underwriting methods to evaluate and manage loan risk. In practice, lending decisions would factor in external information before credit is extended or seized.
SingleAssetVault would serve as a pooled asset container, letting depositors contribute XRP or supported tokens. In return, they would receive vault shares representing their deposit positions.
LendingProtocolV1_1 would upgrade the base system with advanced features such as closed-ended vault types and cash-basis accounting for loan repayments. These measures are intended to expand product options for institutions seeking native crypto-backed loans on XRPL.
In the context of Ripple’s institutional strategy, native lending tools could enable new credit products based on XRP or other distributed assets once the proposals clear their approval hurdles.
Mini dictionary: XLS-66 is a proposed amendment to the XRP Ledger protocol that aims to create a native lending framework. It outlines standardized processes for originating, underwriting, and managing fixed-term loans directly on the blockchain, integrating off-chain credit assessments into decentralized finance operations.
Despite the potential impact, there remains no set activation date for any lending protocol upgrade as validator support has not met the required threshold.
XRPL security upgrades contrast with lending deadlock
While progress on native lending amendments has slowed, the XRPL network implemented a separate security upgrade on November 4. The fixCleanup3_4_0 amendment addressed token permission bugs and improved key functionality for automated market makers, escrow, and potential future lending systems.
This upgrade was successfully activated after meeting validator support criteria, but it does not introduce native lending features. Instead, each amendment must win more than 80% backing from trusted validators for two consecutive weeks to proceed to mainnet deployment. If support drops, the clock resets and activation is further delayed.
Past incidents, such as a vote reversal in October, have demonstrated how the governance mechanism enforces these thresholds, impacting the timing and certainty of new XRPL features.
XRPL amendments that fail to maintain continuous 80% validator support over the required period will not progress, with activation timelines resetting if support drops below the threshold at any point.
