Overview
- Ripple engineering leader J. Ayo Akinyele, amplified by CEO Brad Garlinghouse, invited public input on whether the XRP Ledger should support native staking.
- XRPL currently burns transaction fees and uses a trust-based Proof of Association model where validator influence is not tied to token holdings.
- Akinyele said any staking approach would need a new, durable reward source and fair distribution and penalty mechanics, potentially linked to future programmability fees.
- Developers pointed to active off-ledger experiments from Uphold, Flare, Doppler Finance, Axelar, and MoreMarkets that deliver staking-like yields without altering XRPL’s core.
- Community responses remain mixed on the need for native rewards, and the discussion follows the first XRP spot ETF launch by Canary that has heightened attention on XRPL’s economics.