Following a heated community conversation, David Schwartz has clarified that no code in the XRP Ledger allows the creation of new XRP tokens.
The rumors of creating new XRP tokens on the XRP Ledger have resurfaced despite earlier clarifications. A Bitcoin maxi, Pierre Rochard, regurgitated the conversation in a recent X post, sparking a heated debate with XRP community members.
Rochard argued that Ripple could add to the finite 100 billion XRP total supply by minting new tokens. However, this narrative drew the attention of Ripple’s chief technology officer, David Schwartz, who squashed the sentiment.
New XRP Tokens Not Feasible
Schwartz responded to Rochard’s assertions in clear words, stressing that minting new XRP tokens was impossible. He clarified that no code or function in the XRP Ledger allows for the course to take effect.
No network rule in the XRPL code permits XRP to be created. In fact, network rules enforced by nodes specifically prohibit this. I'm pretty sure someone specifically pointed this out to you the last time you spread this nonsense. 1/2
— David "JoelKatz" Schwartz (@JoelKatz) March 5, 2025
Furthermore, the CTO highlighted that the blockchain has node-enforced rules prohibiting the creation of new XRP. His emphasis points to the sophisticated invariant checking system on the XRP Ledger that determines whether any transaction created new tokens on the network.
Further, Vet, an XRPL dUNL validator, further supported this narrative. He shared that 100 billion XRP was created on the genesis block in 2012, and the network’s developers obliterated any probable function that would allow an addition to this supply.
He's wrong. There is no function to mint more XRP nor is it possible through a bug to do so.https://t.co/IXKt70o9W8
— Vet (@Vet_X0) March 4, 2025
The validator stressed that no bug attack could create new XRP tokens on the network. This is because the invariant checker incessantly monitors any function that permits token minting and immediately blocks them.
As a result, not even Ripple can mint new tokens on the XRPL. Vet noted that the XRP Ledger’s administrators, validators, and users must obey the blockchain rules.
More Clarity on XRP’s 100B Supply
Meanwhile, Schwartz further clarified an assumption that more than 100 billion XRP could be in circulation. For perspective, a user argued that the reconstruction of the ledger genesis to 32,570 could mean that the removed wallets might contain some XRP that are unaccounted for.
However, Schwartz stated that it was unimportant to calculate the balance of all wallets in the genesis ledger 32,570 at the time to ascertain if exactly 100 billion XRP existed. However, the ledger shows that the 136 wallets held that exact amount.
It is trivial to total the balances of all acounts in ledger 32,570 and see that exactly 99,999,999,999.99632 existed at that time. All balances are in that ledger. Attached are all 136 account balances as of that point: pic.twitter.com/xIMlf067t4
— David "JoelKatz" Schwartz (@JoelKatz) March 9, 2025
Furthermore, senior software engineer at RippleX Mayukha Vadari stated that there was no way more XRP could be in circulation as the Ledger approves the balance of an account in the blockchain. Hence, if a wallet claims to have more than the public ledger says it has, validators will reject any transaction that makes that claim true.
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