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Ripple CTO Emeritus David Schwartz sheds light on XRPL AMM DEX peculiarities. In the tweet, Schwartz stated that the XRPL "is" a DEX; in fact, it is the world's first DEX, fully functional since 2012. Reacting to this, an X user asked if the AMM feature was native to the XRP Ledger; to this, the Ripple CTO emeritus answered in the affirmative, saying that the AMM is a ledger feature. He added that this guarantees that tools like wallets can understand fully the consequences of interacting with the AMM and DEX. There are advantages and disadvantages to both approaches. One of the main advantages of this approach, according to the Ripple CTO emeritus, is that users do not have to risk interacting with smart contracts that may be malicious or buggy, and AMMs do not have "owners" as middlemen who "tax" the liquidity providers. — David 'JoelKatz' Schwartz (@JoelKatz) January 14, 2026 Schwartz highlighted what might be the biggest disadvantage, at least in the current implementation — that it is heavily optimized for volatility harvesting and might not perform as well in cases where there is little volatility to harvest, such as between two stablecoins. XRP Ledger AMM explained Automated Market Makers (AMMs) provide liquidity to the XRP Ledger's decentralized exchange (DEX), with each AMM holding a pool of two assets. One of these can be XRP, and one or both of them can be tokens (any other asset on the XRPL) except XRP; stablecoins are a common model for tokens on XRP Ledger). Users can swap between the two assets at an exchange rate set by a mathematical formula. AMMs are integrated with the central limit order book (CLOB)-based DEX to enhance liquidity. Offers and payments are automatically optimized to decide whether swapping within a liquidity pool, through the order books, or both, provides the best rate and executes accordingly.
Premium gym chains are entering a “golden era” that is ending or already in decline, as rising operating costs collide with shifting consumer preferences toward more flexible, community-based ways to exercise. Long-term memberships are shrinking, margins are pressured by higher rents and facility expenses, and competition from smaller, more personalized…