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Ripple Floats XRP Staking to Bring Token Deeper Into DeFi
- Ripple Labs is considering adding native staking functionality to the XRP Ledger (XRPL) to enhance its utility in DeFi and encourage long-term participation.
- Introducing staking would require significant structural changes, including defining a sustainable rewards source and a fair distribution mechanism.
- Some of the proposals include a two-layer consensus model where a stake-based group selects inner validators who process the ledger.
Ripple Labs is weighing whether to add staking to the XRP Ledger (XRPL), in a move that could push XRP deeper into decentralised finance (DeFi) while forcing changes to the network’s core design.
The discussion was kicked off by J. Ayo Akinyele, head of engineering at RippleX, in a blog post on Wednesday.
In the post, he outlined possible upgrades that would allow native staking on XRPL and questioned whether such a change would ultimately benefit the network and XRP holders.
When I think about how XRP’s utility could keep expanding alongside new capabilities, a question naturally comes up: What if the XRP Ledger (XRPL) supported native staking? What would that mean for network design and the asset itself?
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Rethinking XRPL’s Design
Moreover, Akinyele argued that staking could encourage long-term participation and reinforce security by rewarding those who help maintain consensus. However, he noted that introducing staking would require both a defined source of rewards and a mechanism to distribute them fairly, implying structural changes at the protocol level.
Today, XRPL burns transaction fees, a design choice meant to keep the system efficient and slightly deflationary.
Introducing staking would mean rethinking how value circulates through the system, and identifying a sustainable way to reward participation. For example, new fees associated with programmability features would be sent to a rewards pool.
J. Ayo Akinyele, head of engineering at RippleX Akinyele framed staking as a way for XRP to stay competitive as it gains traction with digital asset treasuries and, potentially, exchange-traded products.
Ripple CTO David Schwartz later expanded on the debate, outlining conceptual models for staking on XRPL. One proposal envisions a two-layer consensus structure, with an “outer” validator set selecting a smaller “inner” group of roughly 16 validators based on stake. That inner layer would advance the ledger and be subject to slashing for misconduct such as double-signing.
Any staking design would have to coexist with XRPL’s existing Proof of Association approach, which emphasises trusted validators and stability over purely financial incentives.
Related: XRP’s XPRC ETF Smashes 2025 Records With Biggest Day-One Debut on Wall Street
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Author
José Oramas
José is a journalist and translator with a keen interest in blockchain and cryptocurrencies.
