XRP Ledger Celebrates Monumental Milestone

In a significant achievement for the XRP ecosystem, the XRP Ledger has successfully closed 80 million ledgers in approximately 10.5 years, according to XRPScan, a prominent blockchain explorer for the XRP Ledger. A ledger, in the context of blockchain technology, refers to a record of transactions that occur within the network.

This milestone represents the speed, reliability, and increasing adoption of the XRP Ledger as a technology for processing transactions on the Ripple network.

The XRP Ledger, often abbreviated as XRPL, was launched in December 2012 to enable real-time, cross-border payments. It is an open-source, decentralized blockchain technology that facilitates fast, low-cost international transactions. The XRPL enables anyone to send any currency to anyone else in mere seconds, making it an ideal solution for cross-border transactions.

However, while the XRPL has received praise for its speed and low transaction costs, it has also faced criticism for its degree of centralization. Although technically a decentralized network, the XRP Ledger’s close association with Ripple Labs and the large quantity of XRP held by the company has led some to argue that the ledger is more centralized than other blockchain systems.

In September 2019, the network reached 50 million ledgers, and it took just over a year to add another 10 million. This pace highlights the growing acceptance and use of the XRP Ledger, along with the Ripple network’s increasing capacity to handle a large volume of transactions.

The journey of the XRP Ledger hasn’t been without controversies. The first week of the XRP Ledger’s existence has reportedly been permanently lost, a fact that critics of the digital asset, including Blockstream CEO Adam Back, have frequently highlighted.

Regardless of the criticism, reaching this new milestone signifies the persistence and endurance of the XRP Ledger in the dynamic world of blockchain technology.