RippleX, the development arm of Ripple, has released version 2.5.0 of the XRP Ledger, bringing significant improvements and fixes to the network. This update includes key amendments that notably expand the ledger's escrow functionality. The XLS-85 amendment now supports tokens issued by third parties, such as stablecoins, and enables multi-purpose tokens primarily for institutional use. The XLS-56 amendment adds the ability to wrap up to eight transactions into a single wrapper transaction, aiming to reduce the current 30% failure rate in multi-step transactions.
Additional amendments, XLS-81 and XLS-75, introduce permissioned decentralized exchanges and delegation of permissions, respectively, enhancing the network's governance and operational flexibility. The update incorporates important bug fixes, including new invariant checks for automated market maker (AMM) transactions to maintain network safety, protections against NFT-related spam by requiring explicit authorization for NFT interactions, and prevention of accidental or malicious creation of unusable payment channels.
The XRP Ledger has seen a surge in network activity, reportedly up by 700% following the update’s launch, signaling growing adoption and utility. Senior software engineer Mayukha Vadari emphasized this release as "possibly the best single lineup of amendments" and indicated that these new features position XRP Ledger to better compete with platforms like Ethereum and Solana, particularly in the fields of enterprise finance and decentralized finance (DeFi).
Overall, the software update significantly enhances scalability, compliance, and programmability on the XRP Ledger, potentially attracting increased institutional interest and regulatory-aligned token integrations such as stablecoins like EURØP. Community and expert feedback has been positive, with expectations that these improvements will foster stronger blockchain innovations and financial ecosystem expansion.