Top Validator Leaves XRP Ledger Permanently With His Project. Here’s why

After about five years of building products on the XRP Ledger, Gen3 co-founder Shen says the company can no longer justify continuing to invest its time, money, and energy into retail-focused platforms on the network.

In a lengthy post on X, Shen described the decision as one of the most difficult choices Gen3 has made. He said the team has built on the XRPL since before the XLS-20 amendment and has spent years developing products aimed at expanding the ecosystem.

Shen highlighted several projects Gen3 helped develop during that period. These included Zerpmon, which he described as one of the first gaming NFT collections in the XRP ecosystem, as well as Aigent, which introduced autonomous agents capable of using XRPL primitives. Gen3 also developed Axiom Protocol, which Shen called XRP’s first prediction market.

The company also worked with Futureverse on TRN, building core marketplace and decentralized exchange infrastructure for the XRPL Sidechain.

A Difficult Decision After Five Years

Shen said Gen3 experienced significant changes across the XRP ecosystem during its time building on the ledger. Despite that experience, he said the team no longer sees a sustainable path for operating a retail-focused platform on the XRPL.

He also reflected on the personal commitment involved. Shen said he dedicated much of his life to building on the XRPL over the past five years and made sacrifices in other areas of his life to pursue that work.

He praised the Gen3 team for its commitment, saying he could not have asked for a better or more talented group to work with. He also thanked organizations including XRPL Commons, RippleX, Tenity, DIFC, Futureverse and Victus Global for their support.

Gen3 Will Continue Supporting the XRPL

The decision does not mean Gen3 is leaving the XRP Ledger. Shen said the company will remain involved in the ecosystem from a different angle.

Gen3 will continue operating and maintaining its dUNL validator node. The team will also review, test, discuss, and vote on upcoming amendments. Shen said years of development work have given the team a deep technical understanding of the ledger, which remains important to its continued involvement.

However, Shen said he personally plans to take a break from building and social media to focus on parts of his life that suffered from years of continuous effort.

Funding Concerns and a Shift Toward Institutions

Shen also addressed the funding environment for XRPL startups. He said there is a severe lack of funding opportunities for startups that do not already generate revenue from other blockchains or maintain strong relationships with organizations that control significant resources.

He said he hopes those with resources to support innovative XRPL projects will put more of them into the ecosystem. At the same time, he acknowledged that no one owes anyone support and that builders must decide where they can continue working sustainably.

For Gen3, that path no longer involves retail-focused XRPL platforms. Shen concluded by saying that, personally, his eyes are now on institutions, while Gen3 remains committed to supporting the technical development of the XRP Ledger.