RippleX, the developer arm of Ripple, is prototyping zero-knowledge proof (ZKP) capabilities for the XRP Ledger (XRPL), positioning the technology as a route to “programmable privacy,” trust-minimized interoperability, and a scaling model that pushes heavy computation to layer-2 systems while keeping XRPL as the settlement layer.
In Episode 9 of Ripple’s “Onchain Economy” video series, Aanchal Malhotra, Ph.D., Head of Research at RippleX, framed ZK enablement as a near-term research priority and a long-horizon bet on XRPL’s competitiveness. “I would really like to see an XRP ledger with zero knowledge proof technology enabled. There are so many use cases. There are so many innovative applications that we can build using this technology. So my number one priority right now is to work on enabling zero knowledge proofs on XRP ledger,” Malhotra said.
What Ripple Is Planning With ZK-ProofsMalhotra also stressed that integrating modern ZK systems into XRPL is not a simple plug-in exercise. “We are getting past the exploration phase of zero knowledge technologies. When the XRP ledger was built, these technologies were not even around. So it takes a while. We cannot just use any off-the-shelf solution. It takes a while for us to figure out the specifics of ZK technology to integrate with XRP ledger,” she said, describing the work as moving from exploratory research into prototyping.
That prototyping effort, according to RippleX’s Head of Research, is taking a hybrid form. Some components of ZK proofs would be implemented “natively for better performance,” while another portion would sit in a “programmability layer” to let developers choose proving systems and build applications tuned to their requirements.
The goal, she indicated, is a design that balances throughput and developer flexibility rather than forcing a single ZK stack across all use cases. “We are at the stage of prototyping zero knowledge proof,” Malhotra said, adding that the approach is intended to support “different applications [and] different proving systems.”
“However, what blockchains enable is something called programmable privacy […] you can do selective disclosure meaning disclose the relevant information to third parties for example auditors for compliance purposes.” In her example, a user could prove they are above a threshold, such as being over 18, without revealing the underlying data like an exact age.
Malhotra also pointed to interoperability as a domain where ZK techniques could reduce reliance on trusted intermediaries. She characterized bridges as “fraught with technical challenges,” with trust being the biggest: today’s designs often depend on third parties, federators, or other centralized structures. “What zero knowledge proofs provide is trustlessness. It provides verifiability. So you do not have to trust a third party. Instead what you trust in is cryptography,” she said.
Zero-knowledge proofs will drive breakthroughs in privacy and compute scalability.
At press time, XRP traded at $1.976.
