Catenaa, Saturday, February 28, 2026- The XRP Ledger activated a new upgrade allowing regulated institutions to operate members-only decentralized exchanges onchain, targeting banks and brokers seeking compliant trading.
The update, called XLS-81 or “Permissioned DEX,” enables administrators to control who can place and accept trades, creating a gated marketplace while maintaining XRPL’s native trading mechanics
The upgrade supports compliance with know-your-customer and anti-money-laundering standards, appealing to financial institutions that require blockchain-based settlement and controlled counterparty access.
The feature adds to XRPL’s growing suite of institutional tools. Last week, the ledger rolled out XLS-85, extending native escrow capabilities beyond XRP to include trustline-based tokens, stablecoins, and tokenized real-world assets.
Combined, escrow and permissioned exchange functionality aim to create a more complete infrastructure for regulated markets, from issuance to secondary trading.
XRPL, launched in 2012 and associated with Ripple, has long supported payments, token issuance, and decentralized exchange functions. The recent upgrade signals a shift from fully open DeFi venues toward infrastructure tailored for traditional financial operators.
The activation follows broader ecosystem developments. RippleX engineers have discussed native XRP staking, with Ripple CTO David Schwartz weighing potential designs.
Separately, Ripple partnered with Aviva Investors to tokenize funds on XRPL, reflecting growing institutional interest in compliant asset issuance.
