Ripple CTO Defends XRP Distribution Process Against Criticism

In 2011, developers David Schwartz, Jed McCaleb, and Arthur Britto recognized Bitcoin’s inefficiencies, particularly in mining. They sought a more sustainable way to transfer value. By June 2012, they had completed coding, and the XRP Ledger (XRPL) was ready.

XRP Distribution and Ripple’s Formation

Once XRPL launched, 80% of its XRP supply went to a newly formed company, NewCoin, which aimed to develop real-world use cases. Shortly after, Chris Larsen joined the team, and in September 2012, they officially launched NewCoin.

The company quickly rebranded to OpenCoin, later becoming Ripple. The founders contributed 80 billion XRP to Ripple, which later placed most of it in escrow.

Ripple CTO Responds to Fairness Concerns

Ripple CTO David Schwartz recently addressed claims about XRP’s distribution fairness. Responding to an X user, he defended the process, stating, “I don’t see anything unfair about the people who created something keeping as much of the value as a free market will give them.” He emphasized that XRPL’s consensus mechanism does not exploit adversarial trade-offs like other networks.

I don't see anything unfair about the people who created something keeping as much of the value as a free market will give them. Using consensus in an adversarial way has fundamental trade-offs and what makes XRPL different is that it doesn't do that.
— David "JoelKatz" Schwartz (@JoelKatz) March 9, 2025

Another user questioned why the decision to gift XRP to a company came after the XRP Ledger’s creation rather than during its planning. Schwartz admitted he lacked precise records, as he had limited involvement in the initial distribution.

However, he confirmed that the distribution agreement was finalized on or before September 17, 2012, and backed his claim by sharing the signed document. He also revealed that the Genesis wallet held only 200.999 XRP in the earliest known ledger.

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Ripple CTO noted that XRPL experienced major changes in December 2012. Although these updates were significant, validations did not fully function until January 2013.

Disclaimer: The information in this article should not be considered financial advice, and FXCryptoNews articles are intended only to provide educational and general information. Please consult with a financial advisor before making any investment decisions.