XRP Ledger Upgrade Could Shift Demand, Not Eliminate It

A proposed upgrade to the XRP Ledger has sparked debate about its potential impact on demand for the token. Critics argue that it would make XRP 'optional' and reduce demand, but market connoisseur Kamilah Stevenson counters that the change would simply shift the requirement from individual users to businesses.

The proposal, known as XLS-68, would allow a business or application to cover a user's XRP transaction fees and account reserves. This means that new users could begin using an XRP Ledger-based service without first buying XRP, but Stevenson notes that the reserve obligation remains - it is simply transferred to the sponsoring entity.

According to Dr. Stevenson, at scale, this would require significant amounts of locked XRP, rather than spent XRP. For example, 100,000 customers would require 140,000 XRP in reserves, while one million customers would require 1.4 million XRP.