Ripple and Immunefi launch 'Attackathon' aimed at securing proposed XRPL lending protocol

Immunefi and Ripple have teamed up to launch an "Attackathon," designed to help secure the upcoming native XRPL lending protocol, the two teams announced Monday.

As part of the Attackathon, the firms have invited global security researchers to test the proposed XRPL Lending Protocol for vulnerabilities. Participants will be trained on the technology before competing for a $200,000 reward pool. The education phase is starting Oct. 13, with the bug bounty program running from Oct. 27 to Nov. 29, according to a statement shared with The Block.

Enterprise blockchain solutions firm Ripple is one of the key contributors to the XRPL, while Immunefi's onchain security platform claims to protect $180 billion in user funds and has prevented over $25 billion in hacks across more than 650 protocols.

"We are excited to team up with RippleX to secure the XRPL Lending Protocol through our Attackathon model, which trains and leverages the expertise of the world's best security researchers," Immunefi CEO and founder Mitchell Amador said. "This initiative not only strengthens XRPL's infrastructure but also reinforces Immunefi's mission to protect the most critical ecosystems in web3."

Next step in XRPL's roadmap

As the next significant step in the XRPL's institutional DeFi roadmap, the proposed XRPL Lending Protocol is expected to go to a validator vote later this year. If approved, it would introduce pooled lending and underwritten credit natively on the XRP Ledger, enabling developers and financial institutions to automate the loan lifecycle — from issuance to repayment — while connecting borrowers to global liquidity and allowing lenders to earn yield on otherwise idle assets, the team said.

Built to integrate with existing risk and compliance frameworks, the protocol aims to make credit markets on the XRPL more efficient, transparent, and accessible.

"XRPL was designed to support secure, real-world financial applications, and that's especially important as lending is introduced to the network," RippleX Head of Product Jasmine Cooper said. "This initiative is about making sure the proposed Lending Protocol is thoroughly tested and resilient before launch, so developers and institutions can build with confidence. Partnering with Immunefi allows us to work with some of the top security researchers to help strengthen this new layer of XRPL's DeFi infrastructure."