According to Cointelegraph, the XRP Ledger reduced the base reserve requirement from 10 XRP to 1 XRP on December 2, lowering the entry barrier for new users and allowing users to use part of their reserved XRP.
This reserve change was announced on X by an XRP validator operator using the alias Vet. The owner reserve was also reduced from 2 XRP to 0.2 XRP, allowing users to manage objects in their account with only 0.2 XRP.
The purpose of the reserve is to prevent the ledger size from exceeding the storage capacity of the nodes and to prevent the creation of garbage accounts without XRP. High reserve requirements have been criticized for hindering network adoption.
XRP Ledger developer WietseWind stated that while the lower reserve requirements may increase ledger activity, engineers can handle network pressure. The reserve changes require validator resets and voting, and will not be implemented until December 2.
XRP price has recently risen, and Ripple Labs' legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is still ongoing.