What XRP Ledger Foundation does

The XRP Ledger Foundation is a non-profit organization, headquartered in Tallinn, Estonia, that stewards the open-source XRP Ledger (XRPL) — a public, decentralized blockchain that has been continuously operational since 2012. The foundation serves a global ecosystem of protocol developers, validators, financial institutions, and enterprises building decentralized finance (DeFi), tokenization, payments, and digital identity applications on the ledger. It does not operate the ledger as a commercial enterprise; its mandate is protocol governance, technical stewardship, ecosystem coordination, and developer enablement.

The foundation's core technology is the XRPL reference server implementation, rebranded from "rippled" to "xrpld" with the v3.2.0 release in June 2026. The protocol has closed more than 63 million ledgers with no material downtime over a 10+ year operating history. Native features include an on-chain decentralized exchange, payment channels, tokenization primitives, and an emerging Permissioned Domains amendment (at 79.41% validator support as of early 2026) intended to support institutional compliance. Ecosystem traction includes tokenized U.S. Treasuries scaling from $50M to $418M+ and integrations with Mastercard, Franklin Templeton, and SOIL. The foundation has also engaged Common Prefix to run an AI Red Team formal-verification program and has published a quantum-readiness roadmap targeting 2028.

The foundation's business model is grant-based stewardship rather than revenue capture. Funding flows primarily through Ripple, which has deployed more than $550 million into the broader XRPL ecosystem since 2017. The foundation coordinates protocol upgrades, validator relationships, developer grants, security audits, and ecosystem partnerships. Leadership includes Brett Mollin (Executive Director), Denis Angell (CTO), Rene Huijsen (Director of Operations), Hussein Zangana (Director of Community), and David Schwartz (Honorary Board). The foundation itself operates with 1-10 employees and does not derive revenue from protocol usage.

Name

XRP Ledger Foundation

Legal name

XRP Ledger Foundation

Website

https://xrplf.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The XRP Ledger Foundation is a non-profit steward of the open-source XRP Ledger public blockchain, serving developers, validators, and financial institutions building decentralized finance, tokenization, and payments applications globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Blockchain Protocol

NAICS

Nondepository Credit Intermediation (5222)

SIC

Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

Oracles, Data Feeds & Attestations (price feeds, randomness, proofs) (FSAPAAAI)

Keywords

• Public blockchain protocol
• Decentralized exchange infrastructure
• Cross-border payments network
• Real-world asset tokenization
• Open-source blockchain software

Headquarters

HQ city

Tallinn

HQ country

Estonia

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Ecosystem Developer Funding: The XRP Ledger ecosystem has deployed over $550 million since 2017 to support builders globally. New 2026 initiatives include a FinTech Builder Program, expanded accelerator partnerships, regional startup competitions, and university programs. The foundation coordinates but the model is shifting toward a more distributed, community-driven funding approach.
2. Ecosystem Grants and Developer Programs: XRPL Grants, developer funding programs, and XRPL Commons initiatives (including GLOW program) provide funding and support to ecosystem builders. Funding is coordinated through the foundation and supported by venture capital participation from firms including a100x Ventures, Dragonfly, Pantera, and Franklin Templeton.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

The XRP Ledger Foundation stewards the open-source XRP Ledger (XRPL), a decentralized public blockchain maintained by a global community of developers, validators, and businesses. The foundation coordinates engineering, grants, developer funding, and security initiatives (including AI-powered red teaming and formal verification with Common Prefix) to advance the XRPL's native features such as the built-in DEX, cross-currency payments, payment channels, automated market makers, and the in-development native lending protocol.

Product overview

The XRP Ledger Foundation offers the XRP Ledger (XRPL), a decentralized public blockchain built for business, as a unified platform with multiple integrated features. The core product includes xrpld (the renamed core server software), a built-in Decentralized Exchange (DEX), Cross-Currency Payments, Payment Channels, and Multi-Signing capabilities. The Foundation is developing three major new protocol features: the Lending Protocol (XLS-66) with Single Asset Vaults (XLS-65) for native on-chain lending, Confidential Transfers (XLS-96) for privacy, and AMM v2 with StableSwap for enhanced DeFi liquidity. Developer support is provided through comprehensive documentation, learning portals, and grant programs including the FinTech Builder Program and XRPL Grants. The Foundation also advancing AI-powered security testing and formal verification initiatives in partnership with Common Prefix.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• XRP Ledger (XRPL) A decentralized, public blockchain offering streamlined development, low transaction costs (fractions of a penny), high performance (thousands of transactions settled in seconds), and 10+ years of error-free functioning across more than 63 million ledgers. Open-source and maintained by a global community of businesses and developers.
• xrpld (core server software) The open-source core server software powering the XRP Ledger network, rebranded from 'rippled' to 'xrpld' in v3.2.0. Manages node synchronization, transaction relay, consensus routing, and ledger tracking for the decentralized blockchain.
• Decentralized Exchange (DEX) A high-performance decentralized peer-to-peer multi-currency exchange built directly into the XRP Ledger, supporting trading of XRP and issued tokens via an order-book trading system.
• Automated Market Makers (AMM)
• Lending Protocol (XLS-66)
• Confidential Transfers (XLS-96)
• Cross-Currency Payments Native protocol feature enabling atomic settlement of multi-hop payments that cross currency or national boundaries with ease, supporting high-performance, low-cost cross-border transactions.
• Payment Channels Native protocol feature enabling batched micropayments with unlimited speed, secured with XRP for high-frequency transaction needs and scalable payment flows.
• Multi-Signing Native protocol feature providing flexible options for custody and security of on-ledger accounts using multiple signatures for enhanced account security.
• AMM v2

Quantifiable outcome

• Tokenized U.S. Treasuries surged from $50 million to over $418 million, indicating strong institutional adoption growth.
• +4 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature11 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core, moderate and emerging.

• Common PrefixcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 June 2026Common Prefix conducted a formal security review of xrpld software that uncovered numerical and behavioral bugs (subsequently patched in v3.2.0). The partnership establishes higher security standards for the XRPL ecosystem, including formal verification and security analysis of the XRPL consensus mechanism and Payment Engine's technical specifications. Common Prefix will now conduct formal verification work on the Single Asset Vault proposal (XLS-65) and Lending Protocol proposal (XLS-66) using Lean4, as the network expands into DeFi and tokenization. Ripple partnered with Common Prefix for Lean4-based formal verification of lending protocol components.
• RipplecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRipple is the most significant ecosystem participant collaborating with the XRPL Foundation. Ripple CTO Emeritus David Schwartz joined the Foundation as an honorary board member. Ripple has partnered with Common Prefix for formal verification of lending protocol components. Ripple announced plans to increase XRPL funding to drive adoption in DeFi, asset tokenization, payments, and infrastructure development. Ripple faces a July 1, 2026 DFAL deadline to comply with California's Digital Financial Assets Law for its stablecoin RLUSD. Ripple completed XRP Ledger in June 2012 before the company Ripple was formed, underscoring XRP's independent identity.
• MastercardmoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerMastercard announced plans to expand its XRP Ledger integration to support always-on settlements and time-sensitive intraday payment flows, positioning XRP within evolving institutional payment infrastructure alongside stablecoins like USDC, PYUSD, and Ripple's RLUSD. This integration targets institutional finance use cases on XRPL.
• SOILemergingOthersSOIL is a regulated yield protocol that has positioned itself to become the first application to use XRP Ledger's proposed native lending infrastructure, specifically the XLS-65 and XLS-66 amendments. The protocol has demonstrated its system on XRPL's Lending DevNet environment where users deposit funds into Single Asset Vaults and receive MBT tokens representing their positions. The amendments remain in testing and require approval before mainnet activation.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Tezos Foundation: Swiss non-profit foundation supporting the Tezos L1, comparable as an on-chain governance-driven blockchain foundation stewarding an open-source protocol through formal amendment processes similar to XRPL.
• Avalanche Foundation: Non-profit foundation stewarding the Avalanche L1 platform, comparable as a high-throughput public blockchain foundation pursuing institutional and DeFi adoption adjacent to XRPL's strategy.
• Solana Foundation: Non-profit foundation supporting the Solana L1 blockchain, directly comparable as another high-performance public blockchain foundation stewarding an open-source protocol and developer ecosystem.
• Algorand Foundation: Non-profit foundation stewarding the Algorand L1, directly comparable as a pure proof-of-stake public blockchain foundation targeting enterprise, payments, and DeFi use cases.
• Stellar Development Foundation: Independent non-profit foundation stewarding the Stellar public blockchain, a direct L1 peer with comparable mission (payments, tokenization, RWA) and similar non-profit foundation structure to the XRP Ledger Foundation.
• Cardano Foundation: Swiss non-profit foundation stewarding the Cardano L1 blockchain, comparable as a research-driven, formally specified public blockchain foundation with an institutional-grade ethos similar to XRPL.
• Hedera (HBAR Foundation): Governance council and supporting non-profit for the Hedera public ledger, comparable as an enterprise-focused L1 foundation pursuing institutional payment and tokenization use cases adjacent to XRPL's positioning.
• DFINITY Foundation: Swiss non-profit foundation stewarding the Internet Computer L1, comparable as a non-profit-led L1 foundation operating a globally distributed open-source network for enterprise and decentralized application workloads.

Broad incumbents

• Ethereum Foundation: Swiss non-profit foundation stewarding Ethereum, the largest smart-contract L1. A broad incumbent whose scale dwarfs XRPL but whose governance model and non-profit mission directly parallel the XRP Ledger Foundation.
• Polygon Labs Foundation: Organization stewarding the Polygon scaling ecosystem around Ethereum. A broader incumbent in adjacent scaling/infrastructure territory that competes with XRPL for tokenization and institutional-grade transaction workloads.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/XRPLF
• Xx.com/XRPLF

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors3 records

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about XRP Ledger Foundation