The XRP Ledger (XRPL) will be delivering a major update on Dec. 3, which will address the occasional sluggishness the blockchain network has been experiencing in recent weeks.
As stated in a recent XRP Ledger Operations announcement, the network will be rolling out its new version 3.5.0, which will exclusively include technical improvements and bug fixes, such as a lasting fix for the relatively slow ledger closing times.
"XRPL version 3.5.0 will be on Dec 3. Just improvements/fixes, including a long-lasting fix for the occasional slow ledger close times," XRP Ledger Operations said.
The developers have informed users that the interim fixes to help improve the situation have already been working effectively.
"Interim fixes already helped improve close times, and we are watching the network very closely," it added.
This is a critical advancement in improving the reliability of the XRP Ledger, a network widely used to process cryptocurrency payments, tokenization, and stablecoin transactions.
XRP Ledger's previous network issues
The latest improvement to the XRPL comes after the blockchain network suffered technical issues in October, when some ledgers were closing much slower than usual.
The XRP Ledger usually closes new ledgers once every three to five seconds. This ensures that transaction confirmations happen fairly quickly.
However, intermittent sluggishness was seen on the network, as XRP Ledger Operations admitted on Oct. 21. The team later confirmed that its developers were already working on the issue.
Afterward, XRP Ledger Operations started sharing a recommended configuration update for xrpld software with network operators such as validators and other infrastructure providers.
The temporary fixes were helpful. On Oct. 22, XRP Ledger Operations shared that the occasional slower ledger closures were no longer happening, thanks to the new recommended configuration.
That said, the developers remain hard at work to deliver a software fix that will correct the issue once and for all, a long-term solution that would not rely solely on temporary changes.
That is why the December release is expected to finally bring that permanent fix.
XRP Ledger ramping up security efforts
In the meantime, Vet, one of the notable XRP Ledger validators, has already assured the community that the blockchain network is always being monitored as developers work on more improvements.
In a recent post on X, he stressed that a great amount of work has been put into network monitoring, information security and engineering.
Vet said that their engineers are always on call to address any possible incidents.
