The debate about whether XRP is really decentralized just got a strong response from one of its biggest supporters. John Deaton, the attorney who has become a key figure in the SEC vs. Ripple case, is calling out what he says is a major misconception: that Ripple holding around 40% of XRP makes the network inherently centralized.
According to Deaton, it is not fair to judge decentralization by how much of a token one entity holds. Instead, he suggests a different way of measuring success: how many people from around the world are using the platform. For XRP, it is 75,000 holders from over 140 countries who joined his amicus motion against the SEC, a stat that really shows how widely distributed the XRP community is.
People often conflate the token of the network with the network itself, but these are separate things, as Deaton stressed, so should be treated as such in rules or public judgments. His message was clear — technical nuances matter, and oversimplified arguments only make things worse.
Behind-the-scenes of XRP
That nuance includes how the XRP Ledger (XRPL) works behind the scenes. The system does not rely on mining and instead uses a consensus model where validators — many of whom have no direct ties to Ripple — have to reach agreement on transactions.
David Schwartz, Ripple's CTO, has always said that these validators do not get paid and work on their own, which makes it harder for anyone to take over the network's direction. Ripple can suggest changes, but like any other validator, it cannot make them happen without the majority saying yes.
As the legal and political future of one of crypto's most talked-about tokens continues to take shape, the conversation about decentralization is moving beyond Ripple's corporate structure. At the moment, it is all about how much control there is on the chain — and who's got it.
Vladislav Sopov
U.Today Editorial Team