Former Ripple Director Defends XRP Ledger, Says It Uses Same Block Hash as Bitcoin

Matt Hamilton, former Director of Developer Relations at Ripple Labs, claims the XRP Ledger (XRPL) uses a similar hash as Bitcoin (BTC). Hamilton said this in a community debate between Bitcoin maximalists, who believe the coin is the ultimate decentralized digital currency.

Why XRPL is a blockchain

In an X post, Lightspark CEO and Bitcoin supporter David Marcus argued that BTC has an immutable concept. According to Marcus, individuals cannot recreate Bitcoin by forking.

In response, Hamilton argued that Bitcoin is just one stage in the evolution of money. He further noted that newer technologies like XRP can address the limitations of Bitcoin.

However, Marcus disagreed with Hamilton. He claimed other cryptocurrencies sacrifice decentralization for flexibility, making them less trustworthy as neutral digital money.

Hamilton countered Marcus and noted that it is unrealistic for miners to remain in the market after the next two halvings. Marcus dismissed the concerns and said the increase in BTC price, energy cost and fees from L2 networks would lead to new regions and sovereign states joining mining.

Still, Hamilton argued XRP is more decentralized as anyone can run a node, just like Bitcoin. He added that it is a blockchain, when an X user argued otherwise.

Hamilton emphasized that transactions are grouped into blocks. Each block contains the hash of the prior block, creating an immutable record, and uses similar cryptographic techniques as Bitcoin.

Recent XRPL updates

The recent discussion about decentralization follows recent updates to the XRP Ledger. As U.Today previously reported, XRPL issued a key migration alert to validators.

Validators whose XRP Ledger node currently trusts the UNL published by the old XRPL Foundation were urged to migrate to the new settings. They are expected to make some changes to their rippled configuration.

Failure to switch might cause validator nodes to stop loading the XRPL Foundation’s trusted validators list from Sept. 30, 2025.

Another recent update on the XRPL is the activation of three amendments “fixAMMv1_3,” “fixEnforceNFTokenTrustlineV2” and “fixPayChanCancelAfter.” These amendments indicate that the network sees network improvement as a priority.

Meanwhile, the XRPL recently experienced a new boost in liquidity. Data from DeFiLlama showed XRP Total Value Locked (TVL) rose from just above $90 million to $103.67 million.

This uptick suggested increased protocol engagement from institutional holders. It also suggests that these corporate holders see XRPL as a reliable and low-cost blockchain in the crypto space.