Ripple CTO Proposes XRPL Upgrade as Ledger Hits 70M Monthly Transactions

Ripple’s Chief Technology Officer, David Schwartz, has unveiled a personal plan to boost the XRPL’s infrastructure. This came after the XRP ledger surged in network activity, surpassing over 70M transactions in July.

Ripple CTO Shares XRPL Upgrade Proposal

In a recent X post, David Schwartz revealed that he plans to deploy a new high-performance XRPL server. The Ripple CTO highlighted his aim to create a dedicated hub featuring reserved slots for UNL validators and other XRPL-connected services. He further shared that this would have been his move, not in an official Ripple capacity. 

His current proposed setup includes an AMD 9950X CPU, 256GB of RAM, and fast NVMe storage, hosted in a New York City data center with an unmetered 10GB connection. 

Schwartz emphasized that this would be a single production server built for reliability. However, he cautioned that XRPL’s decentralized design means no single server should ever become a point of reliance.

Alongside running the server, Schwartz plans to gather data on network performance and behavior, though he noted he would avoid disruptive testing except under exceptional circumstances. The Ripple CTO said this initiative reflects his commitment to the XRPL ecosystem rather than a direct corporate project.

XRPL Hits New Milestones: Transactions, Wallets, and Cross-Chain Growth

According to a recent Dune Analytics report, XRPL processed over 70 million new transactions in July alone, bringing its total transaction count to approximately 3.83 billion. The daily average remains high at 1.8 million transactions.

With more than 1 million new users added so far in 2025 and an average of 3,000 new wallets created every day, XRPL also surpassed 7 million total accounts. Despite the volatility of the overall market, this growth indicates continued interest in the ledger as a global settlement layer.

Notably, XRPL’s automated market maker (AMM) volume rose 17% to 408 million XRP last month, while its decentralised exchange (DEX) volume increased 21% to 465 million XRP. With over $165 million worth of assets transferred via Axelar to networks compatible with EVM, cross-chain activity also increased.

Meanwhile, Brazilian real-denominated stablecoin BBRL, issued by BrazaBank on XRPL, surged past $4.2 million in issuance last month, making it the second-largest BRL stablecoin behind BRZ from Transfero Group.

Notably, its newly launched EVM-compatible sidechain went live on June 30, drawing rapid developer interest. In just one week, over 1,400 smart contracts were launched. This shows there is a need for a connection between Ethereum’s flexible features and XRPL’s fast speed and low costs. 

These achievements highlight XRPL’s ongoing growth and ability to attract new developers, supported by efforts from leaders like the Ripple CTO.