XRP Ledger to patch lending code before it goes live

The XRP Ledger is on track to fix bugs in its new lending code before anyone can actually borrow through it. A bug-fix amendment called fixCleanup3_4_0 could go live around 09:34 UTC on Oct 23, while the lending feature itself still lacks the validator support it needs, CoinDesk reports. Here is what to know.

The fix has exactly enough votes

Changes to XRPL's rules need backing from more than 80% of the 35 validators on the default trusted list, which works out to 29, and that support has to hold for two straight weeks. As of Monday, fixCleanup3_4_0 had exactly 29 votes, according to the XRPL Dashboard, and was nine days into its countdown. With no votes to spare, a single validator dropping support would restart the clock.

Lending itself is weeks away

The lending amendment has 19 votes and the separate vault amendment that would hold lenders' money has 21. Neither has started its two-week countdown, so even if both reached 29 votes today, lending could not go live before early November.

How XRPL lending would work

A lender deposits XRP or another token into a vault, and a loan broker lends that money out for a fixed term. The ledger records the loan and tracks repayments, but the broker decides off-chain who is creditworthy. Borrowers post no collateral, so the broker's judgment is all that stands between lenders and a default. Ripple has pitched the setup to payment firms that need cash while a cross-border settlement clears.

The patch also closes a token loophole

According to the xrpld 3.4.0 release notes, the update closes a gap that, under certain conditions, could let an account authorised only to burn tokens on an issuer's behalf create new ones. It also changes how vaults round amounts and how the lending code decides when a loan is late or in default.

Why it matters

Fixing the code before activation, rather than after money is at risk, is the cautious path, and it comes as Ripple pushes XRPL deeper into institutional finance, from embedded wallets via Privy to Cross River Bank's RLUSD integration. Uncollateralised lending is unusual in crypto, where most DeFi loans require borrowers to lock up more than they borrow.