Ripple CTO Shares Insight into XRP Ledger Functionality: Details

In a recent interaction on X (formerly Twitter), Ripple CTO David Schwartz shed light on the current capabilities of the XRP Ledger (XRPL).

The conversation began when an X user asked the Ripple CTO if he could provide an exhaustive list of the XRPL’s native smart contract capabilities.

Schwartz replied that the XRPL does not currently support native smart contract functionality, highlighting the XRPL as a fixed-function ledger. “There are none today. Today, XRPL is a fixed-function ledger,” the Ripple CTO responded.

There are none today. Today, XRPL is a fixed-function ledger.

— David “JoelKatz” Schwartz (@JoelKatz) September 9, 2024

XRP Ledger was initially designed with a focus on speed, efficiency and low-cost transactions, making it particularly well-suited for payments and currency exchange. The XRP Ledger design prioritizes performance and reliability but comes at the expense of broader programmability, such as the execution of complex smart contracts.

While broader programmability is currently lacking on XRP Ledger, features such as escrows, NFTs, authorized trust lines, payment channels and the DEX + AMM provide a common set of composable primitives serving a variety of use cases.

New programmability to arrive on XRP Ledger

While XRPL does not currently support native smart contracts, Ripple is currently exploring ways to enhance the ledger’s functionality in this area.

According to a recent announcement, Ripple and the broader XRP community are committed to introducing advanced programmability, including smart contracts, to the XRP Ledger developer ecosystem in 2025.

XRP Ledger’s programmability will improve as a result of two key developments: the introduction of native smart contract capabilities on the XRP Ledger mainnet, which is currently in the research phase, and the XRPL EVM Sidechain, which is expected to go live in the coming months.

Existing smart contract standards, such as Hooks from XRPL Labs, will lay an important foundation that can be counted on to enhance mainnet capabilities.

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