Ripple to Enhance XRP Ledger with Programmable Features Inspired by Ethereum

The team at Ripple is set to enhance the XRP Ledger (XRPL) with additional programmable features. This information was shared by David Schwartz, the CTO at the company, in a statement to DL News.

The upcoming update, described as «Ethereum-like,» will introduce smart contracts to manage payments, along with a new lending protocol.

According to Schwartz, the aim is to harness the advantages of programmability while minimizing associated risks. The team does not intend to achieve the same level of flexibility as Ethereum but seeks to broaden the capabilities of XRPL. For instance, smart contracts will enable automatic conversion of received funds into a user-preferred asset.

The lending protocol, which is slated for launch in the third quarter, will be hybrid in nature. An off-chain agent will oversee borrower management and debt recovery. XRPL will tokenize the interest on repayments and allocate disbursements accordingly.

“It creates a sort of advantageous separation between TradFi on the front end and DeFi on the back end,” explained Schwartz.

In tandem with these technical upgrades, Ripple is actively pursuing acquisitions of other companies.

“Our mergers and acquisitions team is very busy. We have multiple potential deals at various stages,” stated Schwartz.

Previously, Ripple acquired the crypto brokerage Hidden Road along with custodial firms Metaco and Standard Custody. Schwartz noted that crypto firms currently have a unique opportunity for acquisitions, as traditional financial giants on Wall Street have yet to compete aggressively for these assets.

Additionally, in June, the investment firm Guggenheim Treasury Services launched digital commercial paper on the XRPL.

Later, Circle issued the USDC stablecoin on the Ripple network.