Ripple is recommending that the XRP Ledger community withdraw the long-running XChainBridge (XLS-38) amendment that is focused on bringing cross-chain bridging to the network.
According to the company, the technology is no longer needed for its main intended use case. Moreover, it has failed to secure sufficient developer demand.
Ripple cannot unilaterally remove the feature since it controls only one validator vote on the XRP Ledger. The withdrawal still has to proceed via the network's standard amendment process.
XLS-38 was created to provide a native bridging framework for the XRP Ledger. The proposal would allow assets to move between the XRPL mainnet and connected sidechains with the help of "witness servers."
The system was designed with custom sidechains, including private and permissioned networks as well as experimental chains. It was also originally intended to serve as the bridge connecting the XRP Ledger to the XRPL EVM Sidechain.
The Axelar alternative
Ripple said it selected the Axelar network for the EVM Sidechain. Axelar's network currently has more than 75 validators and supports broad interoperability with more than 50 blockchain networks.
Ripple initially decided to use Axelar for the XRPL EVM Sidechain in June 2024. At the time, the company said it would continue leaving XLS-38 available for a community vote.
Ripple now says that there is little evidence that such demand exists.
"The primary use case that motivated XLS-38's development is fully addressed, and we believe better addressed, by the Axelar integration," RippleX said.
The company also argued that maintaining the dormant implementation has become a liability. Removing XChainBridge would allow developers to eliminate more than 10,000 lines of code.
Ripple's decision could be reversed. Those devs who are actually building around XLS-38 have been asked to present some compelling use cases that could convince the company to change its mind.
U.Today Editorial Team
Dan Burgin
