XRP Ledger upgrade adds regulator-visible privacy tools in institutional tokenisation push
RippleX plans five amendments to the XRP Ledger, including confidential tokens auditors can still inspect, ahead of a validator vote.
The XRP Ledger is preparing a software upgrade that would let institutions issue tokenised assets with balances hidden from public view while still remaining visible to regulators and auditors on request, in a move designed to remove one of the main objections banks have raised against public blockchains.
RippleX Head of Product Jazzi Cooper set out five proposed protocol changes bundled into the xrpld 3.3.0 release, which is expected to become available for network validators next week. As with every prior XRP Ledger change, none of the features will take effect automatically: each must be adopted through an amendment vote and requires support from at least 80% of independent validators, sustained over two consecutive weeks, before it is written into the protocol.
Confidentiality with an audit trail
The centrepiece of the release is Confidential MPT, a privacy feature for Multi-Purpose Tokens built using elliptic curve cryptography and zero-knowledge proofs. It would allow token issuers and holders to shield balances and transaction amounts from public view, while still permitting authorised parties such as regulators or auditors to access the underlying data when required.
That design directly addresses a recurring concern among financial institutions evaluating public blockchain infrastructure: that transaction data on most chains is visible to anyone, a problem for firms handling sensitive treasury flows or client positions. A companion feature, Dynamic MPT, would let issuers amend token metadata, transfer fees and other pre-defined properties after a token has already been issued, avoiding the need to relaunch an asset every time terms change.
Settlement efficiency and permissioned access
A separate amendment, Batch, would allow multiple transactions across different accounts to be bundled into a single atomic operation, so that a delivery-versus-payment settlement either completes in full or fails entirely. RippleX frames this as a reduction in settlement risk for institutional trading and tokenised asset transfers, an issue that has repeatedly delayed traditional finance firms from moving settlement activity on-chain.
Permission Delegation would let organisations grant narrowly defined transaction rights to staff or systems without exposing primary signing keys, a feature aimed at treasury teams that need to authorise routine payments while keeping tighter control over reserve and issuance accounts. Sponsored Fees and Reserves, meanwhile, would let banks, issuers or platforms cover XRP transaction fees and reserve requirements on behalf of end users, removing the requirement for newcomers to hold XRP simply to use an application built on the ledger — users would retain control of their own wallets and private keys throughout.
Governance by validator vote
Cooper said of the timeline: “The release is currently anticipated for next week. As always, these amendments will only activate following validator approval.” She also urged validator operators to review each proposal as it becomes available for voting.
The proposed release follows the recent activation of the fixCleanup3.2.0 amendment, which resolved several bugs affecting vaults, the lending protocol, permissioned domains, Multi-Purpose Tokens and the permissioned decentralised exchange. That amendment cleared the same 80% validator threshold, underlining that the network’s governance process, rather than any central authority, remains the gatekeeper for changes to core functionality.
The timing reflects intensifying competition among layer-one networks to capture institutional tokenisation mandates, as banks and asset managers explore blockchain rails for government bonds, real estate, equities and private credit. For a network whose commercial pitch has long centred on cross-border settlement, bundling privacy, settlement atomicity and simplified onboarding into a single upgrade amounts to a direct appeal to compliance-conscious institutions weighing which chain can satisfy both auditability and confidentiality requirements.
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