Ripple CTO Rejects XRP Ledger Centralization Claims

Key Insights

• Ripple CTO David Schwartz rejected claims that XRP Ledger is centralized.
• Justin Bons argues that XRPL’s Unique Node List limits validator independence.
• The debate underscores broader tensions over blockchain decentralization standards.

Ripple Chief Technology Officer David Schwartz has launched a firm rebuttal against renewed centralization allegations. Schwartz ruled out arguments that Ripple has exerted unwarranted control over its main blockchain protocol. He described these charges as objectively nonsensical in a hot industry debate this week.

The scuffle began when Cyber Capital founder Justin Bons attacked the network’s consensus mechanism. Bons stated that the XRP Ledger has a flaw in the limited selection of the validators. To be more precise, he asserts that the Unique Node List (UNL) does not allow the actual independence of validators.

The XRP Ledger Governance Technical Controversy

According to Bons, Ripple’s proposed UNL offers a permissioned environment. He proposes that this framework will enable Ripple to determine which nodes are involved in consensus. In turn, it is claimed that this structure undermines the very principles of XRP decentralization.

As the exchange went on, Bons proposed that Bitcoin and XRPL have comparable weaknesses. He contended that, like a 51% attack on Bitcoin, a coordinated validator majority on XRPL could potentially filter transactions or carry out double-spends.

Schwartz, however, disregarded the analogy, emphasising that the consensus model of XRPL and the proof-of-work mechanism of Bitcoin are essentially different. He clarified that XRPL nodes independently check transactions and won’t tolerate censorship or double-spending unless specifically set up to do so.

If a validator acts maliciously, honest nodes will simply disregard its votes. Schwartz pointed out that the worst case scenario, even in a well-planned attack, would be a brief network outage rather than fraudulent transaction approvals.

XRP Ledger Consensus Architecture

The XRP Ledger’s design was also influenced by the laws that were in effect at the time of its deployment. According to Schwartz’s description of the UNL, the list was intended to allow a node to decide when agreement had truly been reached and to guard against denial-of-service attacks caused by unlimited validator growth.

Schwartz further refuted the notion that a validator may advocate for censorship or double-spending. His primary argument was that all nodes in the ledger should adhere to protocol guidelines and that transactions cannot be considered legitimate unless they are validated by reliable validators.

XRP Price Technical Analysis

These technical wrangles are the cause of close price tracking by market players. XRP is trading at $1.377, up 2.17% over the last 24 hours.

Relative Strength Index (RSI) is 38.5, generally indicating a neutral to bearish momentum. Over 31 million XRP crypto were moved to Binance in one day, raising short-term sell pressure concerns.

XRP couldn’t hold above $1.388 and extended losses, slipping below $1.345. The local low formed at $1.3275, and the price is now consolidating below $1.35. The 100H MA—short-term structure remains neutral to bearish.

Traders are looking at a clean break above the $0.62 resistance level. A successful breach would push the prices to the $0.75 liquidity zone.

On the other hand, a failure under the support may initiate a revisit of the $0.48 psychological floor.

These open technical disputes are usually succeeded by high level of trading. The XRP Ledger ecosystem continues to grow despite ongoing regulatory and architectural scrutiny. The institutional interest in the protocol is a key incentive for long-term valuation.