XRPL Amendment Set to Introduce New Fee Structure for XRP

The XRP Ledger (XRPL) amendment, which is still in development, will change the fee structure to calculate fees directly in XRP.

An amendment on the XRP Ledger (XRPL) is currently in development, with an aim to enforce a complete review of the fee structure on the network. The amendment seeks to revise the manner with which fees are calculated, changing them from “fee units” to drops of XRP.

The amendment, dubbed “XRPFees,” aims to make it easier to calculate the fees on the XRPL by using drops of XRP directly. Notably, a similar amendment was proposed in November 2021, and while it addressed the issue, some places were not affected. These areas still use “fee units” to ensure backward compatibility.

The latest amendment seeks to update all the places where “fee units” are still being used on the network, replacing the structure with XRP drops. These places the amendment looks to update are:

• The Fee Voting Protocol: This protocol allows validators to vote for changes on the amount of fees the network should charge for a transaction. The votes currently use “fee units.” The amendment wishes to change it to XRP drops.
• FeeSettings ledger entry type: By updating this, the amendment will change BaseFee, ReferenceFeeUnits, ReserveBase, and ReserveIncrement; replacing them with BaseFeeDrops, ReserveBaseDrops, and ReserveIncrementDrops.
• SetFee transaction type: The amendment seeks to replace the ReferenceFeeUnits, BaseFee, ReserveBase, ReserveIncrement areas with BaseFeeDrops, ReserveBaseDrops, ReserveIncrementDrops.

For context, a drop of XRP is the smallest unit of an XRP token. There are 1 million drops in one XRP. In some areas, the network uses this drop to calculate fees, and market participants believe it is more convenient and simpler.

XRPL Fees to Remain Unchanged

Data from the official XRP Ledger website shows that the amendment has not been adopted as of press time. It is important to note that this proposed review does not necessarily affect the amount of fees charged for transactions on the XRPL. Rather, it seeks to implement a new free structure that will make it simpler to calculate the fees.

As reported two months back by The Crypto Basic, an XRP community member suggested that fees on XRPL should be higher, as they are “too cheap.” He launched a poll for this suggestion, but the majority of respondents disagreed.

Notably, David Schwartz, Ripple’s CTO, affirmed support for the fee increase, but clarified that he opposes the idea of using the increase as a means to boost XRP’s price. Instead, he emphasized that transaction costs should be made to reflect the actual cost they impose on the network, as they are currently subsidized.