Multi-purpose tokens

Tokenization is the process of representing real-world or digital assets as blockchain tokens. On the XRP Ledger, tokenization enables:

• Divide high-value assets into smaller, tradeable units.
• Transfer ownership instantly, without intermediaries.
• Enforce transfer restrictions and regulatory requirements at the protocol level.
• Enable cross-border transactions with reduced friction.

The XRP Ledger supports two types of fungible tokens: trust line tokens and multi-purpose tokens. While trust line tokens have served the ecosystem well, MPTs address their limitations with a cleaner architecture designed for institutional adoption.

MPTs were designed based on lessons learned from trust line tokens. The following table summarizes the key differences:

MPTs intentionally omit features like rippling that introduce edge cases, resulting in a simpler conceptual model that is easier to reason about and integrate.

The following properties are inherent to all MPTs on the XRP Ledger:

• Anyone can be an issuer. Every account can issue tokens, and you can create many different issuances from a single account. Each issuance can have different settings.
• Issuers cannot hold their own tokens. Tokens sent to the issuer are automatically burned. Use separate operational accounts if you need to hold your own tokens.
• Holders must opt in. Recipients must authorize an MPT before they can receive it, preventing unwanted token spam.

MPT operations are divided between two distinct roles:

An account can act as both an issuer (for MPTs it creates) and a holder (for MPTs created by others).

Ripple Custody supports issuer operations for creating and managing MPT issuances, and holder operations for receiving and transferring MPTs.

MPTs follow a defined lifecycle from creation to destruction:

1. Create — The issuer creates the MPT issuance with MPTokenIssuanceCreate, defining metadata and flags.
2. Authorize — Holders opt in to receive the MPT with MPTokenAuthorize.
3. Mint — The issuer sends tokens to holders using Payment transactions.
4. Transfer — Holders transfer tokens among themselves (if lsfMPTCanTransfer is enabled).
5. Burn — Tokens returned to the issuer are automatically burned.
6. Destroy — The issuer can destroy the issuance with MPTokenIssuanceDestroy when supply reaches zero.

Each MPT issuance is uniquely identified by a 192-bit identifier (displayed as 48+ hexadecimal characters):

00070C4495F14B0E44F78A264E41713C64B5F89242540EE255534400000000000000

The Issuance ID is generated by the XRP Ledger when the issuer creates the MPT. Unlike currency codes, Issuance IDs are not intended for display to end users—use the token's metadata for human-readable identifiers.

Every MPT issuance includes on-chain metadata stored in the MPTokenIssuance ledger entry. This metadata contains both functional and non-functional data:

Functional data:

• Transfer fee percentage.
• Maximum supply cap.
• Transferability settings.

Non-functional data:

• Asset scale (decimal precision).
• Up to 1024 bytes of arbitrary metadata (typically JSON).

MPT metadata follows the XLS-89 standard. To fit within the 1024-byte limit, the schema uses compressed JSON keys:

The asset_class field categorizes tokens by their primary purpose:

When asset_class is rwa, specify an asset_subclass: stablecoin, commodity, real_estate, private_credit, equity, treasury, or other.

{
  "t": "TBILL",
  "n": "T-Bill Yield Token",
  "d": "A yield-bearing stablecoin backed by short-term U.S. Treasuries.",
  "i": "example.org/tbill-icon.png",
  "ac": "rwa",
  "as": "treasury",
  "in": "Example Yield Co.",
  "us": [
    {"u": "exampleyield.co/tbill", "c": "website", "t": "Product Page"},
    {"u": "exampleyield.co/docs", "c": "docs", "t": "Documentation"}
  ],
  "ai": {
    "interest_rate": "5.00%",
    "maturity_date": "2045-06-30",
    "cusip": "912796RX0"
  }
}

MPT balances are stored as raw integers. The AssetScale field (0–19) defines how to interpret the decimal position:

Ripple Custody automatically applies the MPT's AssetScale to display balances with correct decimal precision.

MPTs support three levels of transferability:

MPTs include built-in compliance capabilities:

When lsfMPTCanLock is enabled during issuance, the issuer can freeze tokens:

• Individual freeze — Block a specific holder from sending or receiving.
• Global freeze — Block all transfers of the token (except to/from the issuer).

When lsfMPTCanClawback is enabled, the issuer can reclaim tokens from any holder without consent. This is useful for:

• Recovering tokens sent to incorrect addresses.
• Enforcing legal or regulatory requirements.
• Responding to security incidents.

MPT behavior is controlled by flags set during issuance. Most flags are immutable after creation.

• Send assets — Send assets, including supported token transfers, with the API.
• Receive assets — Receive and release incoming transfers.
• Blockchains and ledgers — Supported blockchain networks.
• Multi-purpose tokens (XRPL documentation) — Protocol-level reference.