Ripple CTO Discusses XRP Ledger's Security and Potential Attacks

According to U.Today, Ripple's Chief Technology Officer, David Schwartz, recently discussed the security of the XRP Ledger on The Defiant podcast. Schwartz revealed that the only possible way to attack the XRP Ledger would be to disrupt the global ordering of transactions, which would result in the entire network halting. He further explained the workings of the Proof-of-Association (PoA), the unique consensus protocol of the XRP Ledger, which orders all transactions to prevent double-spending. The first transaction is considered valid, while any subsequent transaction is deemed invalid. Schwartz, the mastermind behind the XRP Ledger, stated that the only plausible attack on the ledger would be to halt it entirely. However, he believes there is no incentive to stop the XRP as it is difficult to envision how this could be monetized. He also noted that the XRP Ledger has only faced generic attacks so far, with no attempts at a sophisticated level of attack. Despite this, Schwartz acknowledged the risk of someone opening an XRP short and attempting a serious attack to drive the price down. However, he reassured XRP holders that there are both theoretical and practical reasons not to worry excessively about such an attack. In the same conversation, Schwartz also discussed other issues such as XRP distribution, use cases, smart contracts, and Ripple's ongoing legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.