Ripple Recommends Dropping XRP Ledger’s XChainBridge Amendment, Citing Axelar and Lack of Demand

Ripple is urging the XRP Ledger (XRPL) community to drop the proposed XChainBridge (XLS-38) amendment as it is no longer needed and has attracted little interest from developers.

Ripple engineer Mayukha Vadari said Axelar already handles bridging for the XRPL EVM Sidechain. Since there is little demand for XLS-38, removing it will also get rid of more than 10,000 lines of unused code.

Ripple is officially recommending the withdrawal of the XChainBridge amendment (XLS-38). With Axelar successfully handling the EVM Sidechain and a lack of broader developer demand, dropping XLS-38 will remove over 10,000 lines of inactive code. Read the full reasoning here 👇 https://t.co/9g8J2d5Ggi

— Mayukha Vadari (@msvadari) August 27, 2026

XRPL XLS-38 is to Connect Different Blockchains

XLS-38 was created to let the XRP Ledger (XRPL) connect with other blockchains and sidechains. It seeks to allow developers to create their own sidechains, including private and experimental networks.

The system used a group of “witness servers” to monitor transactions on different chains and confirm them. This would allow assets to move between the XRPL mainnet and sidechains.

XLS-38 also aimed to connect the XRPL mainnet to the XRPL EVM Sidechain, with XRP serving as transaction fees.

Ripple Chose Axelar for the EVM Sidechain

Meanwhile, Ripple chose Axelar as the bridge for the XRPL EVM Sidechain after comparing different options for security, user experience, decentralization, and long-term reliability.

Ripple said XLS-38’s witness-server system can become harder to secure and coordinate as more money moves through the bridge.

Axelar was seen as a better option because it is built specifically for connecting blockchains. It has more than 75 validators and supports more than 55 blockchains.

Ripple announced the decision in June 2024. It still kept XLS-38 open for a community vote and gave developers 12–15 months to show enough demand for it.

However, Ripple said the time given to developers has passed and there still aren’t enough projects that need XLS-38 on the XRPL mainnet. Ripple gave three main reasons:

• Axelar already does the main job: Axelar handles the bridge for the EVM Sidechain, which was XLS-38’s main purpose.
• Low developer demand: There has been little interest in using XLS-38 for private or permissioned sidechains.
• Unused code takes work to maintain: Keeping inactive XLS-38 code means XRPL developers still have to maintain and secure it.

Ripple says removing XLS-38 deletes over 10,000 lines of code, making the XRPL codebase easier to maintain and more secure.

Withdrawal Would Require XRPL Consensus

Ripple stressed that the recommendation is not a unilateral decision. If the community supports the proposal, Ripple plans to first mark XChainBridge as obsolete in the xrpld codebase.

Validators running a version containing that change would automatically vote against the amendment and would no longer be able to vote in favor of it.

As validators upgrade, support for XLS-38 would decline. Once the network reaches consensus that the amendment is obsolete, the XChainBridge and related fixXChainRewardRounding code will be removed entirely in a subsequent software update.

Ripple Is Still Open to XLS-38 Use Cases

Notably, Ripple said removing XLS-38 does not mean it is giving up on connecting the XRPL to other blockchains.

Instead, Ripple believes different projects may need different bridging technologies. Tools like Axelar and Wormhole can work for some blockchains, while other technologies, such as ZK systems and Layer-2 networks, may work better in other situations.

Ripple also asked developers already using XLS-38, or planning to use it, to share their projects before the withdrawal.

For users of the XRPL EVM Sidechain, nothing will change. Axelar will continue to connect the EVM Sidechain to the XRPL mainnet.