David Schwartz - CTO Ripple Exposes False Rumors About XRP

David Schwartz, CTO of Ripple, has dismissed the notion that Ripple has control over the XRP Ledger. In a recent interview, Schwartz explained that the network operates as a public blockchain, where every node executes the same rules, allowing no party to alter or censor transactions. "To date, the biggest misconception is that Ripple somehow controls the ledger," he said. Ripple operates a validator on the network without controlling the entire network. Schwartz explained that the consensus process of the XRP Ledger ensures transparency and accountability. Schwartz has repeatedly dismissed claims that Ripple controls the XRPL. "No one has ever been blocked by Ripple from making a transaction," he said, adding that if someone attempted to block a valid transaction, that transaction would be immediately detected by the network and the public. The Role of Unique Node List The discussion also addressed the Unique Node List (UNL), which currently contains about 33 validators. According to Schwartz, the UNL exists to prevent malicious actors from flooding the network with fake identities that could disrupt consensus. In other blockchains, this scarcity comes from mining power or staked assets. On the XRPL, scarcity lies in the choice of validators that participants trust to adhere to the rules. Validators cannot create or destroy XRP outside the original rules of the network. Any changes to how the ledger operates require the implementation of new code and coordination among validators to activate it. Schwartz stated that if validators refuse to allow a controversial change, "people will switch to validators that will do what they want." In 2024, Ripple's Chief Legal Officer (CLO), Start Alderoty, revealed the SEC's plan to run a node on the XRP Ledger, proving that this network is open to everyone. Security Principles for XRPL Regarding the issue of lost ledger data from the initial history of XRP, Schwartz confirmed that some transactions were lost due to an error. He stated that this happened when XRP had no market value and only a very small portion of the total supply was distributed. Schwartz also discussed the secure ledger approach. The network follows what he calls the "robustness principle," meaning it will halt whenever something unexpected happens instead of continuing to process transactions under uncertain conditions. Although this has led to some rare outages, including a one-hour shutdown earlier this year, he said, "the safest thing to do is to have a human say, okay, it’s all right." The XRPL is transparent and decentralized, structured so that no one party, including Ripple, can control it.