Evernorth plans to deploy its XRP holdings across the XRP Ledger as XLS-66, a proposal for native lending, moves through validator review. Chief Business Officer Sagar Shah argues the ledger-level design could sidestep the smart-contract risks those DeFi applications face elsewhere, while Ripple has voiced support for making on-ledger lending a core use case.
Evernorth moves to put its XRP holdings to work
Evernorth is looking to deploy its XRP holdings across the XRP Ledger ecosystem as proposed lending functionality moves through the network's review process, according to Chief Business Officer Sagar Shah. Speaking to The Block's Kelvin Sparks at the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium 2026, Shah said Evernorth was built as an XRP-focused digital asset treasury with the aim of putting its holdings to use rather than simply holding them. The company is also in the process of going public, he said.
XLS-66 targets ledger-level protection
Shah is particularly excited about XLS-66, a proposal designed to bring native lending functionality to the XRP Ledger. He argued that building the function at the ledger level, rather than through smart contracts on other networks, could sidestep the risks those DeFi applications face elsewhere. According to The Block: "smart contract exploits might exist with other chains, are almost non-existent on the XRP Ledger". Validators are currently reviewing the code and assessing its robustness as the proposal moves forward.
Ripple, for its part, has expressed support for the push, aiming to position native on-ledger lending as a core protocol use case for XRP, according to Crypto Briefing.
Confidential transfers and tokenized assets
Shah, who spent five years at Ripple, also highlighted confidential transfers and smart escrows as additional functions that could broaden the XRP Ledger's use in real-world assets. He said roughly $30 billion in assets are currently tokenized, while the market could potentially run into the trillions.
Sources: The Block, Crypto Briefing
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