Ripple CTO Reveals Strategic Shift and Vision for XRP Ledger

In a recent Twitter exchange, Ripple’s CTO and one of the original architects of the XRP Ledger, David Schwartz, provided valuable insights into the strategic shift and vision that underpins the company’s focus on XRPL.

The conversation began when Panos Mekras, an XRP community member and Web3 writer, expressed his perspective on XRP’s purpose. Mekras emphasized that XRP was not created solely for banks or financial institutions but rather to challenge the existing banking monopoly and empower individuals.

Although Ripple later shifted its focus to the banking system and cross-border payments, Mekras clarified that this move aimed to level the playing field for smaller banks and dismantle the dominance of the “SWIFT cartel,” which is controlled by larger players.

The legend and XRPL co-creator has spoken. End of discussion for people who still disagree. https://t.co/8ORj9w8wSz

— Panos 🔺 {X} 🪝 (@panosmek) June 11, 2023

David Schwartz, in agreement with Mekras’ sentiments, lent his support to the discussion. He acknowledged the thread as an excellent portrayal of XRP’s true purpose, shedding light on Ripple’s underlying motivations.

The developer then clarified that the company’s decision to pivot to payments in 2014 was influenced by the flourishing ecosystem of the XRP Ledger’s Decentralized Exchange (DEX). The substantial daily volume witnessed on the ledger confirmed the presence of real economic activity, thereby motivating Ripple to focus on building an enterprise payment system supported by cryptocurrency.

Schwartz emphasized that Ripple recognized the potential of XRP Ledger to facilitate payments but did not limit its functionality to this sole purpose. He acknowledged that the original vision of the XRPL was to replicate Bitcoin’s functionality while natively supporting multiple assets, enabling sophisticated cross-currency and cross-issuer payments, as well as facilitating exchanges.