In the rapidly evolving world of blockchain technology, Ripple’s XRP Ledger (XRPL) is positioning itself as the go-to platform for institutions seeking innovation and trust. J. Ayo Akinyele, a senior director of engineering at Ripple, recently laid out this vision, emphasizing the importance of privacy-first tools in a blog post published last Thursday. As financial institutions weigh the potential of blockchain, the XRPL aims to offer a balance of transparency and confidentiality that could make it their preferred choice.
Privacy as the Foundation, Not a Fortress
Akinyele’s argument is straightforward: for institutions to adopt blockchain technology, privacy must be a foundational feature, not an afterthought. He likens on-chain privacy to the encryption that secures online banking, suggesting that without it, institutions will hesitate to move critical workflows to public ledgers. The challenge, however, lies in maintaining transparency, a key attribute of blockchain systems, while ensuring confidentiality.
To address this, Akinyele advocates for programmable privacy. This concept allows “honest participants” to control what information is revealed, to whom, and under what circumstances. He proposes the use of zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs), a cryptographic method enabling the validation of a statement without disclosing the underlying data. For instance, institutions could prove they have completed Know Your Customer (KYC) checks without broadcasting sensitive identities across the network. This approach aims to satisfy both institutional privacy needs and regulatory demands for accountability.
Balancing Scale and Security
Privacy is only one piece of the puzzle. Akinyele stresses that scalability should not compromise security or decentralization, two core tenets of blockchain technology. To this end, he emphasizes the potential of trusted execution environments (TEEs) and confidential computation. These technologies are designed to ensure fair transaction ordering and allow sensitive processes to be run off-chain with verifiable results, reducing the risk of market manipulation without reverting to traditional intermediaries.
By focusing on these innovations, Akinyele believes the XRPL can offer a secure and efficient platform that meets the needs of institutional users. The goal is to create a public ledger that is not only private and compliant but also capable of handling large-scale operations without losing its decentralized nature.
The Path Forward: Milestones and Innovations
Looking to the future, Akinyele outlines two significant milestones for the XRPL. In the next 12 months, the focus will be on establishing the ledger as the institutional default by integrating ZKPs to enable private and compliant transactions. This integration is expected to boost transaction throughput, a critical factor for large-scale institutional use.
Beyond that, Akinyele envisions the introduction of confidential multi-purpose tokens (MPTs) in 2026. These tokens, a forthcoming XRPL standard, are designed to bring privacy-preserving tokenized collateral to the market. He sees this as a crucial step for the institutional adoption of real-world assets (RWAs) and decentralized finance (DeFi). By offering a secure and private way to tokenize and trade these assets, the XRPL hopes to attract significant institutional interest.
Bridging the Gap for On-Chain Assets
Akinyele positions the XRPL as uniquely equipped to bridge the gap for the “many trillions of dollars in assets set to move on-chain over the coming decade.” With a decade-long operating history and features like a built-in decentralized exchange, escrow, and payment channels, the XRPL is well-suited to meet the demands of financial institutions.
“The future of blockchains belongs to builders who remove unnecessary trust,” Akinyele concludes. He argues that systems capable of proving correctness, preventing misuse, and protecting data will be essential for delivering the privacy, compliance, and efficiency that institutions require.
As the digital finance landscape continues to shift, Ripple’s XRP Ledger is making a compelling case for its role as a foundational infrastructure. By combining privacy and transparency with scalability and security, the XRPL aims to redefine what institutions can expect from blockchain technology. Whether this vision will materialize, however, remains to be seen. As always, the devil is in the details, and the coming years will be crucial in determining whether the XRPL can meet the high expectations it has set.
Steve Gregory is a lawyer in the United States who specializes in licensing for cryptocurrency companies and products. Steve began his career as an attorney in 2015 but made the switch to working in cryptocurrency full time shortly after joining the original team at Gemini Trust Company, an early cryptocurrency exchange based in New York City. Steve then joined CEX.io and was able to launch their regulated US-based cryptocurrency. Steve then went on to become the CEO at currency.com when he ran for four years and was able to lead currency.com to being fully acquired in 2025.
