Is XRP Truly Decentralized? Ripple CTO Responds: Don’t Get Distracted by 'Is There a CEO?'
Is XRP decentralized? Recently, there has been a lot of controversy. The trigger was a tweet stating that 'the United States is going to invest in XRP,' along with the fact that Ripple executives have been frequently in the spotlight, leading many to question: Is XRP really a chain, or just a cash cow for a company?
Ripple CTO David Schwartz speaks out rarely: XRP has never issued a single additional coin; all coins were issued on the day of creation, and the ledger itself does not allow for additional issuance. Ripple is merely a holder, not an issuer, and has no control.
This points out the key issue:
It is not 'whether there is a CEO' that decides if it is centralized, but whether the chain is controlled by a certain party, whether it can resist censorship, and whether it is truly open to participation by anyone.
Bitcoin has no Satoshi Nakamoto, so it is based on faith; but XRP, despite having public leaders, also relies on 'immutable ledger + no additional issuance mechanism' to achieve censorship resistance.
Centralization ≠ having leadership
Decentralization ≠ no one speaks out
Do not judge the essence of technology based on superficial labels.
Schwartz's statement this time is to give XRP a proper name: decentralization is not just talk; it is embedded in the design of the code!
What do you think, is XRP truly decentralized?
