The XRPL Lending Protocol (XLS-65 and XLS-66) has entered validator voting phase following the Rippled v3.1.0 release in late January 2026, marking a significant milestone in the network's evolution toward native credit markets. However, recent tracking reveals that XLS-65 has secured approximately 8 validator yes votes, representing just 22.86% support, while XLS-66 has obtained around 7 votes, totaling 20% support. Both figures remain well below the sustained 80% consensus threshold required over two consecutive weeks for mainnet activation. The framework targets uncollateralized, underwritten lending for regulated financial institutions, positioning XRPL as a credit layer rather than a payments rail, with the critical unknown being whether validator momentum will accelerate toward the required threshold.
The two amendments operate as an interlinked system designed to enable institutions to borrow against tokenized assets while keeping credit decisions off the blockchain. XLS-65 introduces Single Asset Vaults, permissioned pools where liquidity providers deposit a single token, holding RLUSD, XRP, tokenized U.S. Treasuries, or other tokenized assets directly by the vault structure itself. The XLS-65d revision has simplified this model by eliminating two previously required transactions, reducing overhead for both depositors and redemption flows. XLS-66 builds the XRPL lending protocol on top of those vaults, specifying on-ledger mechanics for loan origination, interest accrual, amortized repayment, and default enforcement via LoanSet, LoanPay, and LoanDelete transactions. Critically, underwriting and borrower credit assessment remain off-chain, with institutional credit desks handling risk evaluation while XRPL manages execution and the loan lifecycle. This is not Aave-style overcollateralized lending; it represents fixed-term, underwritten credit extended to credentialed counterparties through XRPL's existing permissioned domains, credential verification, clawback mechanisms, and freeze functionality.
The compliance architecture runs through XRPL's existing permissioned domains, with vault operators able to restrict participation to KYC/AML-compliant entities at the protocol level, precisely separating this from open DeFi. The protocol would support lending markets for tokenized U.S. Treasuries, money market funds, stablecoins, commodities, private credit, and other real-world assets on the XRP Ledger. As one example, Ripple cited a payment provider holding reserves of RLUSD who could obtain short-term liquidity through the protocol while waiting for cross-border transactions to settle, allowing institutions to avoid liquidating reserve assets or relying on higher-cost bank credit facilities. The amendments are currently testable on devnet, with developers able to integrate against the lending stack ahead of mainnet activation. XRP's market performance will depend more on whether regulated entities deploy capital into RLUSD-funded vaults at scale than on any single technical level, with the framework credible but activation path not yet assured.
Security work has progressed significantly before potential mainnet activation, with RippleX developers working with Common Prefix on formal verification for the lending code to catch edge cases missed by normal testing. Halborn later completed a re-audit of the lending protocol and found no critical or high-risk flaws, providing additional confidence in the system's security. The transaction reservation system proposal has received an encouraging response from XRPL community members, with several developers praising its simple design while noting that it adds an extra transaction and fee for users who choose to reserve execution. If the lending protocol moves forward, it will undergo review by XRPL developers and the wider community before being considered through the network's amendment process. SOIL has expressed interest in becoming one of the first applications to use XRPL's native lending infrastructure if validators approve the amendments, making the vote important not only for core protocol design but also for future lending, yield and working capital tools on XRPL.
