Ripple chief technology officer (CTO) David \u201cJoelKatz\u201d Schwartz used a late-Wednesday post on X to frame a surge of payments and stablecoin companies launching their own base-layer networks as validation of blockchain\u2019s role in finance\u2014and to restate how the XRP Ledger\u2019s design differs from the new entrants.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been seeing more and more players in the payments and stablecoins space launch their own blockchains. To me, that\u2019s a clear sign the market sees blockchain as core financial infrastructure \u2014 something we\u2019ve believed in and have been building toward on the XRP Ledger for over 13 years,\u201d he wrote<\/a>, adding, \u201cLaunching a blockchain is hard. Building an ecosystem with developers, liquidity, trust, and real-world usage is even harder.\u201d<\/p>\n Schwartz situated XRPL\u2019s posture in the long-running debate over network governance. \u201cSome blockchains are built with permissioned validator sets controlled by one entity or a small group. This can provide control and compliance for specific, closed-network scenarios, but it limits reach, resilience, and the ability for anyone to contribute to securing and growing the network,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cAs many of you know, the XRPL is public and permissionless at its core, with optional permissioned features for regulated use cases.\u201d He argued that the ledger\u2019s open base \u201cmakes it adaptable, interoperable, and well-positioned to serve as critical infrastructure for the world\u2019s financial system \u2014 connecting assets, markets, and participants seamlessly across borders.\u201d<\/p>\n The remarks arrive as two US fintech heavyweights move into L1 territory. Circle<\/a> this week unveiled Arc, an EVM-compatible Layer-1 it says is \u201cpurpose-built for stablecoin finance,\u201d with dollar-denominated fees (USDC as native gas), opt-in privacy, a built-in RFQ-style FX engine, and \u201cdeterministic sub-second settlement finality\u201d via the Malachite consensus engine. Circle says Arc will enter private testnet in the coming weeks, target public testnet in the fall, and a mainnet beta in 2026.<\/p>\n Separately, Stripe is developing Tempo, a high-performance, payments-focused L1 being built in partnership with crypto VC firm Paradigm. Tempo is designed to run code compatible with Ethereum, is currently in stealth with a small team, and it remains unclear whether it will have a native token.<\/p>\n Schwartz also highlighted specific XRPL design choices he sees as aligned with financial-grade settlement. \u201cIt\u2019s encouraging to see some newer chains adopt design choices that have long been part of the XRPL\u2019s architecture<\/a>, like deterministic finality \u2026 It shows there\u2019s growing alignment in the industry on the importance of predictable, reliable settlement for financial applications without expensive validation,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n He reiterated that XRPL fees are meant to stay \u201clow and predictable, just fractions of a cent, without a separate gas token,\u201d noting that \u201cevery transaction on the XRPL uses\/burns XRP.\u201d XRPL\u2019s technical documentation specifies that each transaction destroys a small amount of XRP as an anti-spam fee, and describes consensus rules aimed at deterministic ordering and finality.<\/p>\n Where Schwartz drew a line was on governance flexibility. He acknowledged that permissioned validator sets can make sense for \u201cspecific, closed-network scenarios,\u201d but underscored XRPL\u2019s approach: a public, permissionless core with opt-in controls for compliance needs.<\/p>\n The ledger\u2019s native features include Authorized Trust Lines, Deposit Authorization\/Preauthorization, and issuer-level freeze tooling for issued assets\u2014not for XRP itself\u2014allowing regulated token issuers to gate or police flows without converting the entire network into a walled garden. XRPL\u2019s own FAQ emphasizes that it is a decentralized, public blockchain where changes require supermajority validator approval.<\/p>\nCompetition For Ripple And The XRP Ledger?<\/h2>\n