Ripple Executives Mull Adding Staking To The XRP Ledger

Ripple executives have started discussing the possibility of adding staking to the XRP ledger to align incentives among validators and token holders.

When thinking about ways that the blockchain’s utility and capabilities can be expanded, adding staking to the XRP Ledger often comes up, said RippleX’s head of engineering J. Ayo Akinyele in a Nov. 18 blog post.

Adding Staking To The XRP Ledger Would Require Restructuring At Core Levels

Akinyele said in the blog post that adding staking to the XRP Ledger will encourage “long-term participation” on the network, as well as “strengthen security by rewarding those who help maintain consensus.” 

But he added that in order for staking to be implemented, there will need to be a “source of staking rewards” on the blockchain, and that these rewards will need to be distributed fairly. 

What’s more, introducing staking to the XRP Ledger would challenge the blockchain’s core principles, including its Proof of Association mechanism, which prioritizes trust and stability over financial incentives. 

Ripple CTO Shares Two Ideas To Add Staking

Despite the challenges, one of XRP ledger’s core architects, Ripple CTO David Schwartz, shared two ideas on X on how staking can be implemented. 

The first approach would involve a two-layer consensus model with an incentivized inner layer. In this dual-layer system, there will be an inner layer of around 16 validators, which will be selected by an outer layer based on stake. 

The inner layer would then handle ledger advancement through common staking and slashing mechanisms to prevent issues such as double spending, he explained. Meanwhile, the outer layer, which will involve the current set of validators without a staking component, would oversee amendments and fees, as well as police the inner layer. 

Schwartz’s second approach is to retain the current consensus structure, but use fees for zero-knowledge proofs. These proofs provide a cryptographic way to prove a statement is true without sharing any extra details. This enables verification without trust. 

The Ripple CTO did say, however, that while both of those ideas are “awesome technically,” they are “probably not realistically likely to be good, at least not any time soon.”

With regards to the two-layer consensus approach, Schwartz said implementing this system is “a lot of work and risk.” 

“The benefits to network stability and robustness are largely theoretical and there aren’t any current issues in either area,” he added. “If there isn’t a lot of revenue generated, it will be a lot of work for little gain. It isn’t needed to get programmability.”

When it comes to the ZK proof mechanism, Schwartz said that while it’s a “very cutting edge” approach, it is also “complex technically.” He added that if there is very little uptake, it will be “a lot of work for zero gain.” 

“However, I do think there’s potential here for something that could transform XRPL into something fundamentally different from what other blockchains offer without radically changing the things we love about XRPL,” he said. 

New Staking Feature Comes Amid Wave Of XRP ETF Filings

The discussions around staking for the XRP Ledger comes amid heightened interest around spot XRP ETFs (exchange-traded funds). 

Just last week, the first US spot XRP hit the US market. Issued by Canary Capital under the ticker “XRPC,” the ETF saw $245 million inflows on its debut. 

XRPC flows (Source: SoSoValue)

Nine more XRP ETFs are expected to launch this week.