Ripple Pivots from Native Bridging to Axelar as XLS-38 Amendment Faces Withdrawal

Ripple Recommends Withdrawing XLS-38 Amendment

Ripple has recommended that the XRP Ledger community vote to withdraw the XChainBridge amendment, known as XLS-38, according to RippleX. The proposal addresses what the company describes as obsolete technology that no longer serves its intended purpose. Since Ripple operates only one validator node on the XRP Ledger, the withdrawal cannot be enacted unilaterally but must proceed through the network’s standard amendment process, requiring broader community consensus.

From Promise to Liability: Reassessing XLS-38

XLS-38 was originally designed to provide a native bridging framework for the XRP Ledger, enabling assets to move between the mainnet and connected sidechains through witness server infrastructure. The proposal was intended to support custom sidechains including private, permissioned, and experimental configurations, and served as the foundation for planned connectivity to the XRPL EVM Sidechain. However, maintaining this inactive implementation has become a technical liability. Ripple estimates that removing the amendment would free developers to eliminate more than 10,000 lines of code. According to RippleX, “the primary use case that motivated XLS-38’s development is fully addressed, and we believe better addressed, by the Axelar integration.” Despite earlier commitments to leave the amendment available for community consideration, the company now reports that little evidence exists of sufficient developer demand to justify ongoing maintenance.

Axelar as the Bridging Solution

Ripple’s strategic pivot hinges on the Axelar network, which the company selected in June 2024 to serve as the bridge connecting the XRP Ledger to the XRPL EVM Sidechain. Axelar currently operates with more than 75 validators and maintains interoperability with more than 50 blockchain networks. By leveraging this established cross-chain infrastructure rather than developing a native solution, Ripple gains access to proven security and broader ecosystem integration while reducing the engineering burden of building and maintaining redundant bridging technology.

A Provisional Decision Open to Reconsideration

Ripple’s proposal is not irreversible. Developers actively building on XLS-38 have been invited to present compelling use cases that could convince the company to reverse its recommendation. Since the amendment process requires community consensus, any withdrawal remains subject to network approval, preserving the theoretical possibility that unexpected demand could prompt reconsideration. For now, however, Ripple’s assessment stands that the costs of maintaining the dormant implementation outweigh demonstrated community benefit.

This consolidation streamlines the XRP Ledger’s bridging ecosystem and could signal a broader industry trend toward integrating established cross-chain protocols rather than building redundant infrastructure.

Source: Ripple, via U.Today. Not financial advice.