The XRP staking platform Firelight has surpassed 50 million staked XRP and is developing an on-chain exploit protection layer. The protocol will use the staked capital to provide a cover layer against smart contract and bridge vulnerabilities, responding to over $137 million in DeFi thefts in Q1 2026. The protection mechanism is set to activate in partnership with Sentora in the second quarter.
The XRP staking platform Firelight is moving to introduce an on-chain exploit protection layer using staked XRP. This initiative follows a rise in decentralized finance exploits, with thefts exceeding $137 million in the first quarter of 2026.
Firelight recently surpassed 50 million staked XRP on its protocol. The growth was attributed to significant deposits from large holders, known as whales.
Users deposit XRP to mint FXRP on Flare’s fully overcollateralized bridge and then stake into Firelight’s vault. They receive staked XRP, or stXRP, which can be used across the Flare ecosystem.
Beyond liquid staking, the protocol serves as an on-chain protection layer for DeFi assets. “Firelight believes the demand for DeFi security is at a critical inflection point, driven by the persistence of on-chain exploits,” the announcement stated.
The protection is designed to cover smart contract exploits, economic risk, oracle failures, and bridge vulnerabilities. A recent stablecoin protocol exploit, involving a private key leak, led to $23 million in losses.
The first phase established a sustainable yield model for XRP stakers with audited vaults. The second phase, expected in Q2 2026, will activate the full on-chain cover layer backed by the staked FXRP pool.
This allows other protocols to purchase the protection mechanism. Firelight is launching this layer in partnership with Sentora, an institutional DeFi intelligence platform.
Institutional and retail participants fully subscribed to the protocol’s inaugural deposit ceiling of 25 million FXRP within six hours. Demand remained high when the cap was raised to 65 million FXRP, indicating strong interest in the capital-backed protection model.
