Ripple CTO Shares Insights on ‘Clawback,’ A New XRPL Feature

Ripple CTO Schwartz recently shared some insights into the new Clawback feature on the back of a recent disclosure from RippleX developers.

Notably, RippleX revealed that the XLS-39 ‘Clawback’ feature, billed to go live on the XRPL, is up for voting. With the announcement trailed by doubts from community members, Ripple CTO David Schwartz came up to share his thoughts.

The "clawback" amendment is now eligible for voting. This allowers issuers of new assets specifically created with this feature enabled to claw back a specified quantity of the asset from a holder.

Some thoughts: … https://t.co/OmrerirRQz

— David "JoelKatz" Schwartz (@JoelKatz) October 2, 2023

Schwartz has tried to allay fears attached to this new feature. He first explained that the Clawback feature will enable token issuers to retrieve a specific quantity of the issued tokens from current holders.

He revealed he was against the feature initially since the XRPL already has the Freeze feature, similar to Clawback. 

Ripple CTO: Clawback Feature Enables’ Surgical Strikes’

However, he said the apparent difference between Clawback and the freeze feature made him change his mind. In his analogy, Schwartz noted the clawback feature will find a primary use case in legal disputes.

Specifically, he believes that the ability to claw back some funds when there is a dispute takes off the legal burden from the token issuer. 

Schwartz noted that this safeguard is critical to comply with court orders. He believes with the current model without the Clawback feature, auditing protocols on the XRPL will be difficult.

The Ripple CTO also described the feature as a tool that allows for surgical strikes to keep the XRPL whole, as opposed to Freeze, which is a more nuclear option.

In all, Schwartz highlighted that this new feature is currently present in blockchains with stablecoins residents. He noted that if the proposal fails to pass, token issuers will need to go through the hassle of enabling the feature one way or the other.

Besides Schwartz, other top leaders within the XRP ecosystem, including WrathofKahneman (WoK), have also attempted to dispel wrong myths about the Clawback feature. In his words, there is no secret amendment in the XRP Ledger (XRPL) ecosystem.

With the concerns alleviated, the Clawback feature will be passed once 80% of current validators vote Yes to the proposal. The minimal threshold will also have to be held for at least two weeks for the proposal to fly.

Setting the Stage for DApp Growth

Over the past few months, the XRPL has faced a significant overhaul with a series of innovations being proposed. As reported earlier by TheCryptoBasic, the team behind the Xumm wallet proposed an overhaul of the XRPL infrastructure to promote participation through incentives.

The efforts of the core developers are being acknowledged globally as SpendTheBits, a payment protocol on the XRPL, bagged the top spot in the Ripple CBDC Innovate award, a showcase of the ledger’s good work.