Ripple validators vote in favour of upgrade to introduce NFT functionality

• Ripple developers are conducting extensive tests to ensure that the NFT functionality doesn’t increase transaction load.
• For developers to experiment with XLS-20 and NFT capabilities, Ripple is operating an NFT-Devnet.

Earlier this year in March 2022, Ripple unveiled its $250 million creators fund to bring non-fungible tokens (NFT) to its platform. The much-anticipated project is now getting closer to reality.

In the latest development, the Ripple validators have voted in favor of activating the XLS-20 amendment on Ripple’s XRP Ledger (XRPL). This will ultimately help in introducing NFT functionality to the Ripple Mainnet. The implementation of the NFT functionality will happen by upgrading Ripple’s servers which will “provide developers access to NFT minting, trading, and burning functionality”.

A developers’ blog of Ripple announced that they are running extensive tests to ensure that the NFT code is stable, scalable, and efficient to cater to the expected volume on the XRP Ledger. The results turned out to be fruitful with developers finding that XRPL can comfortably handle the extra transaction load.

But the outcome of the final testing shall be out in the upcoming weeks. It will help towards a better understanding of performance features and resources needed by server operators. Ripple has asked the validator to do due diligence before voting for the XLS-20 implementation. Furthermore, Ripple has also launched a Devnet for anyone willing to explore the NFT capabilities. The official announcement notes:

For anyone interested in experimenting with XLS-20 and exploring the NFT capabilities it introduces, Ripple is operating an NFT-Devnet. All are welcome to explore NFT-Devnet, which demonstrates the performance characteristics and implications of the proposed XLS-20 standard without compromising the performance of the XRPL Mainnet.

Ripple CTO takes a cautious stand

David Schwartz, the chief technology officer at Ripple is taking a cautious stand on this matter. Although Schwartz supports the amendment, he shares a different take. When asked on Twitter what’s his take, Schwartz replied:

I lean towards yes, but if I were running a validator, I wouldn’t vote yes just yet. I’d at least wait until other validators had upgraded to 1.9.1 and reported no issues and I’d also wait enough time for anyone who had concerns to raise them.

The Ripple CTO further explained that even if the majority of validators vote Yes, the XLS-20 amendment won’t activate for two weeks. Besides, if concerns arise later, backing out is also possible. But Schwartz said that for him it would feel like governance failure.

Ripple CTO isn’t quite in favor of changing things on the mainnet unless it’s a critical bug. He says that changes always come with “costs and risks associated with them”. Schwartz added that he’s happy that the XRP community largely cares about “performance, features, security, and scaling”. “I hope we continue to find a good balance between not standing still and not taking too much risk,” he added.