Native NFT Functionality Enabled As XLS-20 Goes Live On XRP Ledger

Native NFT functionality is now live on the XRP Ledger.

In a tweet today, Ripple CTO David Schwartz announced that the XLS-20 amendment is now live on the mainnet thanks to the efforts of the XRPL community and Ripple developers.

Thanks to the collective effort of the #XRPL community and @RippleXDev engineers, XLS-20 is now enabled on the XRP Ledger Mainnet and a few NFTs have already been minted. (1/4)

— David "SantaClaws" Schwartz (@JoelKatz) October 31, 2022

Notably, RippleX, an account dedicated to the Ripple Development team, quoting Schwartz’s tweets, confirmed the news. RippleX, subtly hinting that the development came on Halloween, said, “Treat yourselves to NFTs on the XRP Ledger, starting today.”

Not a trick? Treat yourselves to NFTs on the XRP Ledger, starting today. #MintOnXRPL https://t.co/UBAQp0CIHa

— RippleX (@RippleXDev) October 31, 2022

Unsurprisingly, the community has greeted the announcement with excitement from all quarters. Users noted that it had already been a good day for the community. Before this, news broke that Coinbase requested to file an amicus brief in favor of Ripple in its drawn-out legal battle with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. 

Why NFTs On The XRPL Are Unique

In a blog post shared and authored by Schwartz on behalf of the RippleX team, the CTO highlights some things that make NFT functionality on the XRPL unique.

For one, developers took a “no-smart-contracts approach,” making NFTs on the XRPL less vulnerable to attacks, less likely to cause network congestion, and more effectively cheaper. Notably, this approach tackles issues experienced with NFTs on leading Layer 1 blockchains like Ethereum.

Additionally, with XLS-20, a cut from secondary sales can be directed to the original minter, and people can co-own NFTs.

Furthermore, through the XRPL’s built-in decentralized exchange (DEX), XLS-20 offers automatic royalties to NFT creators. Per the post, creators get a share of the revenue via transfer fees.

It is worth noting that Ripple’s director of engineering, Nik Bougalis, who recently revealed his desire to resign after a decade with the company, first proposed the XLS-20 amendment in 2021. As reported by The Crypto Basic, the proposal looked set to go live in September but faced a setback after developers were made aware of a critical bug.

While it required only a quick fix, Combat Kanga highlighted that implementation would take a month at the least, as validators had to take their time to test the code before voting again.

The latest development now positions the XRPL as a strong Ethereum competitor and is likely to catalyze increased XRP adoption.