The XRP Ledger’s Batch upgrade has slipped by at least 10 days. Validator support briefly fell below the network’s 80% threshold, restarting the two-week countdown and pushing the earliest activation date to Oct. 9 if support holds.
The feature was supposed to turn on Sept. 29. The sudden loss of support pushed the launch date back, even though the votes bounced back fast.
The Reset and the New Clock
On Sept. 25, the XRPL amendment dashboard confirmed that BatchV1_1 regained support from 30 out of 35 trusted validators, which restarted a two-week countdown.
If the network’s trusted validators continue to back it, the earliest possible activation date moves to Oct. 9 around 14:46 UTC. The network operates under strict rules: upgrades need more than 80% of trusted validators to maintain support for two consecutive weeks. Losing that support erases the accumulated time, even if the votes come back shortly afterward.
The countdown toward Batch began in September 15. This marks the second try at putting the feature into use. The first version was pulled back before it could be switched on, due to a serious problem with how signatures were checked. The fixed version of the feature went live in August as part of version 3.3.0 of the software that runs the ledger.
Ripple’s Own Engineering Chief on the Feature
The engineering chief for RippleX, Ayo Akinyele, told CoinDesk last year that more projects were being built around Batch, and he added that Ripple would share more about its work with asset managers once the feature went live.
He did not name the partners or give launch dates, but he did say “Some projects are already being built with Batch in mind, so activation would allow that work to move closer to production,”.
The timing of Akinyele’s comments makes the delay more awkward than it would otherwise be. There were projects that were waiting on the upgrade, and now they will wait longer.
The PermissionDelegation Upgrade Also Slips
A distinct upgrade was likewise put off. PermissionDelegationV1_1 was the feature, which would let account owners give others certain duties without handing over signing keys.
Another account could be given permission to carry out permitted actions on behalf of a business without the business revealing the keys that control its funds. A token issuer could delegate payment responsibilities and compliance functions to distinct operational accounts.
This upgrade was stripped of its qualification status on Sept. 23, only to be restored a single day afterward. The earliest point at which it could have taken effect was shifted from Oct. 5 to Oct. 8, the change occurring around 21:25 UTC.
What Happens Next
For Batch to activate on Oct. 9, support must stay at 80% or above for two straight weeks. If it falls instead, the countdown starts over.
The result is tied to whether the network’s trusted validators continue to support the upgrade:
- If they keep voting for it, Oct. 9 becomes the earliest possible date for the upgrade.
- If they stop, the upgrade could be delayed even further.
The Real Cause of the Delay
The delay is not a failure of the technology. The upgrade itself is a corrected version of a feature that developers withdrew before it activated. It shipped in August with version 3.3.0 of the software.
The issue is the voting system. Validator backing fell below the threshold, and the rules are set up to penalize any such drop, even a temporary one. One single decline erases weeks of time built up.
The network’s stringent guidelines caused the accumulated countdown time to vanish once the threshold was surpassed, which is what necessitated the two-week reset.
The Bottom Line
Oct. 9 is the earliest date the upgrade can now happen. For the projects still waiting on Batch, the delay now sits at at least two more weeks, unless support slips again.
“Some projects are already being built with Batch in mind, so activation would allow that work to move closer to production.”
What Akinyele said explains why the delay is more awkward than it would otherwise be. The upgrade shipped in August, and the corrected version has been counting down since Sept. 15. It now needs 80% support for two consecutive weeks to clear the activation threshold.
Source material: “XRP Ledger’s Batch upgrade slips to Oct. 9 after validator support resets,” CoinDesk.
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