"Ripple's XRP Supply: Debunking Myths, Ensuring Integrity"

The XRP Ledger Validator has recently addressed speculations that Ripple could generate additional XRP tokens beyond the original 100 billion. These claims, fueled by criticisms from Bitcoin maximalist Pierre Rochard, have been thoroughly debunked by an XRP Ledger validator, Vet.

Vet, a decentralized unique node list (dUNL), has clarified that the token supply is capped at 100 billion tokens, a limit established when the ledger was launched in 2012. The entire token supply was pre-mined and is now permanently set in the ledger’s code, ensuring a fixed total supply. The initial 100 billion tokens were stored in the Genesis account, which has been publicly documented, providing complete visibility.

The fixed supply of tokens is hardcoded into the ledger’s infrastructure, ensuring immutability. The ledger’s cryptographic keys are publicly accessible, allowing anyone to verify the token supply in real-time. The XRPL’s design incorporates multiple security features that prevent the creation of new tokens under any circumstances, guaranteeing the integrity of the asset’s supply.

The XRPL’s invariant checker is a robust safeguard to prevent the unauthorized creation of new tokens. This built-in security feature continuously scrutinizes all network transactions, ensuring the token supply remains unchanged. Any attempt to generate new tokens would be instantly detected and blocked, maintaining the system’s integrity.

Unlike Bitcoin, which suffered from accidental inflation in the past due to a bug, the XRPL has never encountered such an issue. Vet referenced the notorious 2010 Bitcoin bug, which led to the accidental creation of 184 billion BTC tokens, as an example of how such issues can arise in other blockchains. The ledger, however, has maintained its integrity, preventing any such inflation from occurring.

Moreover, the asset is deflationary, not inflationary. Each time a transaction is conducted on the ledger, a small portion of the asset is burned as a fee, this reduces the circulating supply over time. This mechanism ensures that the total number of tokens in supply continues to decrease, rather than increase, reinforcing the idea that the supply cannot be expanded beyond the original 100 billion.

Rochard’s claims that Ripple could alter the ledger’s software and remove the supply cap or change the escrow locks, potentially allowing the