Key points
- XRPL developers have built an experimental native perpetual futures infrastructure.
- RLUSD may support leveraged trading and margin accounts.
- The proposed upgrade introduces 10 new trading types.
Developers at the XRP Ledger Foundation have built an experimental implementation of native perpetual futures trading, which could enable leveraged crypto derivatives to run directly on the XRPL using collateral assets such as Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin.
According to the technical research released by the foundation on November 4, the proposed system introduces 10 transaction types and 5 ledger entry types, covering margin accounts, order matching, funding payments, and liquidations.
This implementation consists of approximately 15,070 lines of handwritten code spread across 81 files. However, it is currently still an experimental development branch, not an approved network upgrade.
Developers on the XRP Ledger are building native futures infrastructure.
The proposed Perpetual Futures amendment would allow operators to establish derivative exchanges directly on the XRP Ledger.
Unlike traditional futures, perpetual contracts have no expiration date. Traders can maintain leveraged long or short positions, while periodic funding payments help keep the contract price aligned with the underlying market.
This architecture supports both cross-margin and isolated-margin trading modes, with collateral deposited into dedicated accounts.
It also introduces price oracle calculations and liquidation procedures to manage positions when available margin is insufficient.
This proposal differs from XRPL’s previous concept of a derivatives sidechain, which explored providing leveraged trading and options through independent infrastructure.
RLUSD could bring derivative trading directly to the XRPL.
The proposal also seeks to bridge a notable gap between Ripple’s institutional trading business and the XRP Ledger itself.
Ripple Prime has partnered with Hyperliquid to provide institutional access to derivatives trading, including round-the-clock swaps across more than 100 markets.
Eligible customers may use RLUSD as collateral, but the underlying perpetual markets operate outside of XRPL.
The feasibility study by the foundation estimates that, as of November 4, the open interest for the XRP market on Hyperliquid was approximately $219 million.
A native exchange may eventually attract some of that trading activity.
However, this development will not automatically lead to institutional adoption.
Previous concerns regarding liquidity in the Ripple Prime perpetual market underscore that market makers and sufficient trading depth remain crucial.
The proposed infrastructure could also complement existing institutional RLUSD collateral arrangements, though no participating institutions have currently committed to using the native XRPL perpetual exchange.
Why has this futures upgrade not yet been prepared for mainnet deployment?
This technical study estimates that development will require 320 hours, an additional 560 hours for review, and two external security audits.
Additional review, audit, and integration costs are estimated at $331,000 to $387,000, excluding initial development hours.
Key issues such as liquidity, the reliability of price oracles, control by collateral issuers, and how losses are handled during liquidation remain unresolved.
This proposal is also independent of XRPL’s native lending upgrade, which received 60% support from validators on November 6 but remains below the activation threshold.
Even though the code is complete, formal review and governance approval are still required. The XRPL’s most recent security amendment shows that feature activation depends on validators consistently reaching consensus.
Marcus Hale
Marcus Hale is an author covering Bitcoin, Ethereum, digital assets, regulation, ETFs, and institutional adoption in the crypto and financial markets. His work focuses on market dynamics, investor trends, and the broader forces shaping the crypto economy.