Ripple has engaged with a Canadian startup, Axelar, to enhance the tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs) on the XRP Ledger (XRPL), aiming to facilitate better interoperability across the blockchain.
This collaboration with the Axelar Foundation is set to enrich the XRPL’s DeFi ecosystem by introducing necessary liquidity for both stablecoins and assets of significant value. Developers will also gain from the XRPL’s unique offerings, including its native decentralized exchange (DEX), forthcoming automated market maker (AMM), and its acclaimed payment system, recognized for its security and speed.
Advancing RWA Tokenization
The concept of tokenizing real-world assets (RWAs) is gaining traction within the cryptocurrency sector, attracting attention from individual investors and large-scale institutional firms due to its growing popularity and potential.
With the aim of capitalizing on this trend, Axelar Foundation is dedicated to broadening blockchain adoption through enabling RWA tokenization in collaboration with Ripple.
Moreover, Axelar’s network will support the implementation of cross-chain decentralized applications (dApps) directly on the XRPL. Beyond basic asset bridging, Axelar introduces General Message Passing (GMP), enhancing the XRPL’s functionality by allowing developers to perform function calls across over 55 linked blockchains.
This feature facilitates the secure cross-chain transfer of various types of information, including data and function executions, via Axelar’s GMP.
David Schwartz, Ripple’s CTO and XRPL co-creator, remarked,
“Axelar’s initiative will significantly improve the XRPL’s ability to interact with an extended array of blockchain networks, enriching its features and fostering new opportunities for utility and innovation.”
The XLS-38 proposal by Ripple was an initial effort to boost interoperability within the XRPL by creating bridges to mainnet and sidechains, such as the anticipated EVM sidechain.
This partnership with Axelar Foundation broadens XRPL’s interoperability, connecting it to a vast network of blockchains through Axelar. This collaboration is poised to widen XRPL’s reach, enabling access to new ecosystems and encouraging innovation across multiple chains.
XRPL Network Insights
The XRP Ledger has been operational for more than a decade. A recent analysis by Messari revealed varying trends in XRPL network activity for the fourth quarter.
Despite a 31.3% decrease in active addresses on the XRPL from the previous quarter, transaction volume saw a 22.7% increase. Notably, there was a significant 491% increase in NFT mints quarter-over-quarter, leading to a 170% jump in total NFT transactions.
The fourth quarter alone witnessed 3.4 million NFT mints, making up over half of all mints since the introduction of the XLS-20 standard in 2022.