In a recent post by crypto influencer Xaif, David Schwartz's account of the creation of the XRP Ledger was discussed, detailing the motivation and philosophy behind the system's development.
Early Motivation and Design Philosophy
In the video, Schwartz clarified that the initial concept came from Jed McCaleb in 2011, at a time when proof-of-work (PoW) was considered essential to the success of Bitcoin. However, he noted that even then signs were emerging that PoW might not be a sustainable or fair model for blockchain consensus.
Technical Breakthroughs and Differentiation
Schwartz stated that they quickly discovered the model worked and offered distinct features not present in Bitcoin. Notably, the consensus algorithm employed in XRPL was 'leaderless', eliminating the need for a designated block producer.
Multi-Asset Ledger and Liquidity Pools
Drawing inspiration from Ryan Fugger’s earlier work in 2004, the team extended XRPL to support issued assets, described as early versions of stablecoins. This system allowed users to hold one asset and make payments in another, addressing the transitional nature of value across different assets.
Schwartz concluded that by early to mid-2012, XRPL was essentially complete with the same core features it maintains today, positioning it as a uniquely capable blockchain platform for financial applications.
