Does Ripple Hold ‘Absolute Control’ of the XRP Ledger? Former CTO Calls Claim ‘Nonsensical’
Former Ripple CTO David Schwartz refuted claims by Justin Bons that Ripple controls the XRP Ledger via its Unique Node List.Summary
The debate over XRP Ledger's decentralization reignited when Cyber Capital founder Justin Bons argued that Ripple's use of a Unique Node List (UNL) of trusted validators effectively makes the network permissioned, granting Ripple Foundation and the company absolute control.
Former Ripple CTO David Schwartz dismissed this as "objectively nonsensical," comparing the assertion to claiming a Bitcoin miner with a majority hash rate could create new coins. Schwartz contended that the XRP Ledger's consensus model differs fundamentally from Proof-of-Work, and while validators could theoretically conspire to halt the network, they could not successfully double-spend or inflate the supply. He noted that users could adopt a new UNL if necessary, similar to changing a mining algorithm.
Bons broadened his criticism to other non-PoW/PoS blockchains like Stellar and Hedera, suggesting they rely on authority, while Schwartz maintained that the XRPL was intentionally designed so that no single entity, including Ripple, could own or control it, ensuring no one could rewrite history or inflate supply.
(Source：CCN)