Ripple's CTO Debunks Decentralization Concerns

Ripple's XRP Ledger (XRPL) has been at the center of a long-running debate in the crypto space over its level of decentralization. The controversy stems from concerns about the Unique Node List (UNL), which critics argue gives Ripple and its foundation 'absolute power and control' over the chain.

However, Ripple's CTO David Schwartz has countered these claims, stating that XRPL was deliberately designed to prevent any single entity from controlling the chain. He emphasizes that nodes individually decide which validators to trust, making it impossible for Ripple or others to censor transactions.

Schwartz acknowledges that validators could potentially conspire to halt the chain from the perspective of honest nodes, but notes that they cannot force double-spends. In such a case, node operators could switch to a different UNL, which he compares to changing the mining algorithm in Bitcoin after a majority attack.