The XRP Ledger Foundation has just opened its infrastructure access to the general public. Through a partnership with service provider Ankr, the network is now setting up distributed nodes that can be accessed for free by developers and users. These access points are located in Singapore, New York, Amsterdam, and San Francisco, utilizing an automatic routing system that directs users to the nearest node with the best connection.
This move eliminates the technical barriers that often slow down developers. Previously, creators of crypto wallets, exchanges, or applications had to go through the hassle of running their own nodes to build on top of XRPL. Now, the Ankr portal offers free JSON-RPC endpoints for both mainnet and testnet. The service comes equipped with ready-to-use cURL and JavaScript code examples, along with a live monitoring dashboard to check network status, ledger height, and latency. The currently opened access only covers the current network state, while full history search features will follow later.
Paving the Way for 5 New Features
The opening of this infrastructure access aligns with preparations for the launch of the xrpld v3.3.0 update. The RippleX development team is preparing five new amendments that will revamp how tokens operate on this network. The primary focus is on privacy and facilitating advanced transactions.
The list of updates includes Confidential MPT, which brings zero-knowledge proof-based privacy to tokens; a Batch feature for simultaneous settlements; and Permission Delegation, which grants limited transaction authority without the need to share signing keys. The other two features are Sponsored Fees, allowing issuers to cover network fees for their users, and Dynamic MPT to modify token specifications after issuance.
Jazzi Cooper, product lead at RippleX, emphasized the direction of this series of updates. “XRPL has proven itself capable of supporting asset tokenization at scale. Now is the time to make these assets used for global transfer, trade, collateral, and settlement,” Cooper said.
Strict Requirements Before Features Activate
Each of these new features will not go live immediately. The network’s rules require every amendment to receive approval from at least 80% of validators for two consecutive weeks before becoming active. The same test was recently passed by the fixCleanup3_2_0 amendment on July 29, which successfully garnered 85.71% support, or 30 out of 35 trusted validators. Consequently, all nodes still running xrpld version 3.1.0 and below are now automatically blocked from the network.
Despite the technological foundation being strengthened, the crypto market responded flatly to these developments. The XRP price is held in the range of $1.08, nearly stagnant over the past 24 hours and down slightly by 0.8% over the week. While its daily trading volume did creep up by about 46% to reach $1.03 billion, there are no signs yet that traders view this infrastructure expansion as a short-term price driver.
For independent application builders, this is a long-awaited milestone. They can now start testing new projects without having to rent their own servers - only time will tell whether this convenience will actually attract new developers to the network, or simply ease the work of those who are already established within the ecosystem.
As reported by crypto.news.
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Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only, not financial advice. Cryptocurrency assets are highly volatile and carry significant risk. Always do your own research (DYOR) and never invest more than you can afford to lose.
