Independent Non-Profit

XRPL Foundation

The independent, non-profit organization dedicated to the growth and adoption of the decentralized XRP Ledger. Separate from Ripple, serving the broader community.

Independent from Ripple

The Foundation operates independently, serving all XRPL stakeholders regardless of their relationship with Ripple.

2020

Established

$6.5M+

Grants Awarded

150+

Projects Funded

XRPL Foundation

Est. 2020

Mission

To support the development and growth of the XRP Ledger community and ecosystem. The Foundation provides financial, technical, and business support to developers and organizations building on XRPL.

By fostering innovation and adoption, the Foundation ensures the long-term sustainability and decentralization of the XRP Ledger.

Why It Exists

While Ripple is the largest contributor to XRPL development, having an independent foundation ensures the ledger's governance isn't controlled by any single entity.

The Foundation represents the interests of all XRPL stakeholders: validators, developers, businesses, and users worldwide.

What They Do

Key activities and programs

Developer Grants

Financial support for developers building tools, applications, and infrastructure on XRPL. Grants range from $10K to $500K+ depending on project scope.

Apply for Grant

Education & Documentation

Maintains comprehensive developer documentation, tutorials, and educational resources at xrpl.org. Supports workshops and hackathons globally.

Visit XRPL.org

Community Events

Organizes XRPL Community events, hackathons, and developer meetups. Hosts the annual XRPL Apex conference bringing together builders from around the world.

Global hackathons & conferences

UNL Governance

Publishes one of the recommended Unique Node Lists (UNLs) for XRPL validators. This helps ensure network decentralization isn't dependent on Ripple's UNL alone.

Validator recommendations

Standards & XLS

Facilitates the XLS (XRP Ledger Standards) process for protocol amendments. Community members propose improvements that validators vote to adopt.

Protocol governance

Ecosystem Growth

Business development support, partnership facilitation, and marketing resources for projects building on XRPL. Helps connect builders with opportunities.

Business support

Grant Categories

Areas the Foundation actively funds

Developer Tools

SDKs, libraries, APIs, and developer infrastructure

DeFi & AMM

DEXes, lending protocols, yield platforms

NFTs & Gaming

Marketplaces, games, metaverse projects

Infrastructure

Validators, explorers, indexers, bridges

Payments

Payment apps, merchant tools, remittances

Education

Tutorials, courses, documentation, content

Research

Security audits, academic research, analysis

Interoperability

Cross-chain bridges, sidechains, integrations

Foundation vs Ripple

XRPL Foundation

  • Non-profit organization
  • Serves all XRPL stakeholders
  • Funds open-source development
  • Independent governance
  • Publishes independent UNL

Ripple

  • For-profit company
  • Serves enterprise customers
  • Builds commercial products
  • Largest XRP holder
  • Major XRPL code contributor

Key insight: While Ripple initially funded the Foundation and remains a major contributor, the Foundation operates independently and serves the entire XRPL ecosystem.

Official Resources

Build on XRPL

Have a project idea? The Foundation offers grants from $10K to $500K+ for developers building on the XRP Ledger.