XRP Ledger’s Big Upgrade Just Cleared Its Final Vote, Here’s What’s Coming

XRP has already dipped as low as $1.01 during the ongoing bear market pullback, reviving talk that the token could briefly slip below a dollar before this cycle’s downturn runs its course.

A Familiar Pattern From the Last Cycle

One analyst pointed to XRP’s 2022 bear market as a reference point. XRP bottomed near $0.28 in June 2022, then retested that same support level roughly half a dozen times through January 2023, including a final touch at $0.32 before the market turned. The current setup, the analyst argues, looks similar, just at a higher price range this cycle.

Exchanges Keep Shutting Down

Bitmart just became the second crypto exchange to shut down in less than a week, following BitMEX’s earlier announcement. Bitmart’s native token, BMX, collapsed more than 60% after the shutdown news broke. A former major Bitcoin mining pool also filed for bankruptcy, reportedly holding just $1 million in assets against $500 million in liabilities.

Several digital asset treasury companies and at least one crypto hedge fund have also wound down operations in recent weeks. Analysts tracking the space describe this wave of collapses as a sign the market is clearing out excess leverage and weaker players, a pattern some say has historically preceded major bottoms in past cycles.

Institutions Are Pushing for Regulatory Clarity

Support for the CLARITY Act has grown among major financial institutions ahead of the Senate’s August 7 recess deadline. Both Charles Schwab and Fidelity have pushed the Senate to pass the CLARITY Act, joined by the Fraternal Order of Police and Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, who has publicly called for the bill’s passage.

New Upgrades Coming to the XRP Ledger

Away from price action, the XRP Ledger has several technical upgrades moving through its amendment process. The XRP Ledger’s batched fix update has already passed its 80% vote requirement and is expected to go live within days. Additional upgrades under discussion include:

• Batch transactions, allowing up to eight transactions to be bundled into a single atomic action
• Zero-knowledge proof privacy features, enabling confidential transfers
• Sponsored fees and reserves, letting platforms cover the XRP wallet creation cost for new users
• Permission delegation, allowing specific account permissions without full custody transfer
• Dynamic multi-purpose tokens, which can carry updatable fields after launch

Two additional features are drawing particular attention: a Single Asset Vault that would let users pool XRP, RLUSD, or other tokens together, and a companion lending protocol built on top of it, enabling fixed-term, uncollateralized loans intended for institutional use.

Why the XRP Ledger’s DEX Matters

With centralized exchanges continuing to shut down, some analysts are pointing to the XRP Ledger’s built-in decentralized exchange as a safeguard for token holders. Since the DEX operates independently of any single platform, users can continue trading and earning yield on XRP even if individual exchanges they relied on disappear.