What is a Single Asset Vault on the XRP Ledger, and how is it designed to work?

The full answer

What does a Single Asset Vault do?

As of October 13, 2026, XRPL.org’s documentation defines a single asset vault as an XRP Ledger primitive that gathers assets from many depositors and makes them available to other on-chain protocols, such as the Lending Protocol [1]. Each vault holds one asset. That asset can be XRP, a trust line token or a Multi-Purpose Token (MPT) [1].

A Vault Owner account manages the vault and can create, update or delete it [1]. Ripple described the split in its June 29, 2026 article: the vault is “a standardized structure for pooling and managing a single asset onchain,” and the Lending Protocol puts that pooled money to work as loans [4]. The same XRPL.org page says that, as of October 13, 2026, the only supported uses were asset management and lending markets [1].

The code first shipped in server version 3.1.0, which the XRPL.org blog dated January 28, 2026 and described as introducing Single Asset Vaults and the Lending Protocol [5]. Crypto Economy reported the same on September 11, 2026 [7].

Who holds the assets, and how are shares issued?

A vault cannot hold assets itself. XRPL.org explains that a Vault ledger entry cannot hold assets directly, so the ledger creates a pseudo-account to hold them [1]. That account cannot receive funds or send transactions, and exists only to store assets and issue shares [1].

Depositors put assets in and receive shares, which represent their proportional ownership of the vault [1]. Each share is an MPT issued by the vault’s pseudo-account [1]. Because MPTs exist only in whole units, a Scale setting converts fractional amounts into whole shares. In an XRP vault, XRPL.org says, one share represents one drop [1].

When creating a vault, the owner chooses whether shares are transferable. Non-transferable shares can only be redeemed [1]. Where transfers are allowed, the receiving account must have permission to hold both the shares and the underlying asset [1].

Can anyone deposit into a vault?

That depends on the vault type. In a public vault, anyone can deposit, according to XRPL.org as of October 13, 2026 [1]. A private vault admits only depositors holding the required Credentials, managed through Permissioned Domains [1]. If a depositor’s credentials expire, they can no longer deposit but can still redeem their shares. XRPL.org says any shareholder in a private vault can redeem, so the owner cannot lock funds away [1]. These tools sit alongside the ledger’s other compliance features for institutions.

How are deposits and withdrawals priced when a vault loses money?

Shares can rise or fall in value. XRPL.org says shares may be yield-bearing depending on the connected protocol, that the vault asset does not earn yield on its own, and that losses mean lower redemptions [1].

To stop early leavers from pushing a loss onto those who stay, the vault tracks unrealized (paper) losses in a LossUnrealized field [1]. XRPL.org gives a worked example: a vault worth $1.0 million with 1.0 million shares and a $900,000 unrealized loss would show an exchange rate of 0.1 [1]. To block someone from buying in cheaply at that rate, the vault uses separate exchange rates for deposits and redemptions [1].

What is a closed-ended vault?

The LendingProtocolV1_1 amendment adds closed-ended vaults, according to XRPL.org and Ripple’s open-source documentation, both as of October 13, 2026 [1][3]. An open-ended vault lets depositors come and go at any time. A closed-ended vault runs through three stages [3]:

1. Subscription, the fundraising window, when depositors can deposit and withdraw freely.
2. Investment, the lockup, when assets are fixed and can be lent out, and deposits and withdrawals are blocked.
3. Redemption, the wind-down, when loans have been repaid and depositors withdraw their share of the proceeds.

The dates for each stage are set when the vault is created and cannot be changed afterwards [1]. LendingProtocolV1_1 restricts all loans to closed-ended vaults [1]. The amendment also switches new vaults to cash-basis accounting, which counts interest only when a payment delivers it [1]. A vault’s owner cannot pick the model; the amendment’s status at creation decides it, and vaults created under the earlier instant-interest model keep it permanently [1].

What does the XLS-65 specification add?

The XLS-65 specification, in its version updated September 15, 2026, lists the checks a vault-creation transaction must pass [2]. A closed-ended vault fails if either its subscription date or redemption date is missing [2]. An MPT asset is refused if it is not transferable or if it is locked [2]. A public vault cannot be tied to a Permissioned Domain, and a Data field larger than 256 bytes makes the transaction fail [2].

What can asset issuers do to a vault?

Issuers keep their usual controls. XRPL.org says the issuer of a vault asset can freeze a trust line token or lock an MPT; while frozen, the asset cannot be deposited and withdrawals can go only to the issuer [1]. An issuer can also claw back vault assets by forcing redemption of an account’s shares, with the assets sent to the issuer [1].

Is the Single Asset Vault live on the XRP Ledger?

No. Ripple wrote on June 29, 2026 that XLS-65 and XLS-66 remained subject to validator approval and that developers could test on devnet [4]. As of September 24, 2026, The Crypto Times reported that XLS-65 (Single Asset Vaults) and XLS-66 (Lending Protocol) were still in validator voting and not active on the XRPL mainnet [6]. That was the status on that date only; amendment status changes as validators vote, and the XRPL amendment list read on October 13, 2026 is the later reference for what is enabled. The Crypto Times reported on September 24, 2026 that the upgrades were still in voting and not active on mainnet [6]. As of October 13, 2026, XRPL.org’s site menu listed lending as “Open for Voting” [1].

Builders have plans. The separate page on whether XRPL lending is live tracks that status, and the vote process is set out in how XRP Ledger amendments are approved.

What are the main risks and criticisms?

The vault handles bookkeeping, not credit judgment. XRPL.org describes the Lending Protocol as offering fixed-term, uncollateralized loans funded from a Single Asset Vault [8]. Ripple’s June 29, 2026 article states that “Underwriting stays off-chain” [4]. A vault’s share value therefore rests on loans whose quality the ledger does not check.

The code has also needed repair. XRPL.org says Halborn audited Single Asset Vaults in February and March 2025 and found several issues, which were fixed during the engagement, and that later fixCleanup amendments made further correctness, precision and rounding fixes to vault behaviour [1]. The XRPL.org blog shows version 3.1.3, released May 14, 2026, introduced fixCleanup3_1_3 with fixes that included Vaults [5]. Whether features like this change demand for XRP at all is a separate question, taken up in why XRP’s price isn’t rising with adoption.