David Schwartz - CTO Ripple Exposes Misleading Rumors About XRP

David Schwartz, CTO of Ripple, has dismissed the notion that Ripple has the authority to control the XRP Ledger. In a recent interview, Schwartz explained that the network operates as a public blockchain, where every node enforces the same rules, allowing no party to alter or censor transactions.
"So far, 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 had a transaction blocked by Ripple," he said, adding that if someone tried to block a valid transaction, it would be immediately detected by the network and the public.
The Role of Unique Node List
The discussion also touched on 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 choosing validators that participants trust to follow 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 who 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 ledger data loss from the initial history of XRP, Schwartz confirmed that some transactions were lost due to errors. 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 ledger's safe approach. The network follows what he calls the "robustness principle," meaning it will stop whenever something unexpected occurs rather than continue processing transactions under uncertain conditions.
Although this has led to some rare outages, including a one-hour halt earlier this year, he said, "the safest thing to do is to ask a human to say, okay, it's all right." The XRPL is transparent and decentralized, structured so that no single party, including Ripple, can control it.