The XRP Ledger (XRPL) recently faced a major technical failure, halting block production for nearly an hour. This unexpected disruption sparked concerns among users and fueled debates within the crypto community.
What Caused the Outage?
Ripple CTO David Schwartz addressed the issue, stating that the exact cause remains unclear. However, he believes the network drifted apart due to validators not being published. This caused a lack of consensus, which is crucial for blockchain operations.
To restore the network, validators had to be republished from a stable starting point. Once enough consensus was built, the XRPL resumed normal operations.
Could It Have Recovered on Its Own?
Schwartz suggested that the network might have spontaneously recovered. He noted that very few Unique Node List (UNL) operators made changes during the outage. This raises questions about whether the system self-corrected without manual intervention.
Despite the failure, no ledger with majority validation was lost. According to Schwartz, servers likely refused to send validations because they detected an issue, which might have contributed to the temporary halt.
Bitcoiners Take Jabs at XRP
The outage didn’t go unnoticed in the crypto community. Bitcoin supporters took the opportunity to criticize XRPL’s failure. One commentator sarcastically noted that the downtime didn’t affect any banks since “no banks use it.”
In response, Schwartz pointed out that Bitcoin itself has faced network-level failures in the past. He highlighted two major incidents: one in 2010 that lasted 8 hours and another in 2013 that lasted 6 hours. He also mentioned that Bitcoin frequently goes an hour without confirming transactions, making it vulnerable to similar issues.
XRP Price Takes a Hit
The technical failure negatively impacted XRP’s price. The token dropped over 6%, underperforming the rest of the top 10 cryptocurrencies. This decline reflects investor uncertainty following the outage.
What’s Next for XRPL?
As the network stabilizes, developers will likely investigate the root cause to prevent future failures. Ensuring validator consistency and improving fault tolerance will be key priorities.
Despite this setback, XRP remains a significant player in the crypto space. Whether it can regain investor confidence after this incident remains to be seen.