Ripple CTO David Schwartz recently engaged in a conversation on X (formerly Twitter) to address the concept of blockchain immutability. The discussion focused on missing transactions on the XRP Ledger and missing blocks on the Ethereum blockchain. An X user, curious about immutability, posed a question to Schwartz, which caught the attention of the XRP community and notable blockchain explorer XRP Scan. Blockchain immutability, a key feature, means that once something is created, it cannot be changed.
He explained that some early XRPL transactions remain immutable, and those familiar with the technical details still know the exact information.
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Schwartz Explains Immutability
Schwartz clarified by stating, “If I give you a cryptographically-secure hash of some data, then that data is immutable.
Any change in the data would not match the hash. But that doesn’t mean anybody knows what the data actually is.” He further emphasized that immutability doesn’t guarantee full knowledge of the original data.
Early XRPL Transactions Still Immutable
Schwartz also addressed concerns about early transactions on the XRP Ledger. He explained that some early XRPL transactions remain immutable, though the exact details are still known to those who understand the technical nuances of the system. Schwartz, along with engineers Jed McCaleb and Arthur Britto, began developing the XRP Ledger (XRPL) in 2011, with its initial launch occurring in June 2012.
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However, a mishap in 2012 led to the loss of ledgers 1 through 32,569. The first available ledger, 32570, dates back to the initial week of XRPL’s existence. Despite this missing history, the XRP Ledger’s functionality remains intact, with no impact on its operations.
Earlier this year, Schwartz clarified that while the XRP Ledger’s genesis block holds no transactions, 534 transactions were recorded in the lost ledgers and are presumed unrecoverable.
