XRP Ledger Slowdown Slows Consensus as XRP Rises 5%

As the XRP Ledger Operations team observed ledgers closing at a much lower frequency than normal during the recent XRP Ledger slowdown, engineers investigated the issue. On October 21, Ripple co-creator and former CTO David Schwartz detailed the network’s reduced safety margins and the two potential types of failure capable of halting the system, as reported by U.Today.

Schwartz explained that these delayed consensus rounds indicated the ledger had seen its technical safety margins shrink.

XRP Ledger slowdown puts consensus resilience under scrutiny

Engineers have not yet confirmed whether a targeted attack or an undiscovered software bug caused the slowdown. Schwartz outlined two main scenarios that could cause a network-wide freeze: widespread simultaneous failures affecting numerous validator servers, or a defect within consensus or another core protocol function.

Read More: XRP Ledger Fixes Critical Bug That Could Have Created 18 Trillion XRP, Protecting 100B Supply

Additionally, he rejected the notion that crashing or overwhelming a single major hub would suffice to halt the ledger. This includes his personal node, noting that its local failure would not dictate whether the broader XRPL remained operational.

Schwartz’s node lost monitoring access under peak load

According to U.Today, validators operated under maximum strain while consensus rounds lagged. During this time, Schwartz’s node experienced local RPC connections trapped in the CLOSE_WAIT state, preventing its monitoring framework from recording and sending crucial diagnostic data.

Ultimately, he rebooted his server without identifying the exact trigger for the malfunction.

An outdated log destination added friction to the investigation

The troubleshooting process also revealed another complication: Schwartz’s node was forwarding logs to a deprecated XRP Ledger Foundation test host. Combined with the local monitoring failure, this misdirected logging complicated the collection of diagnostic details, though it did not trigger the network slowdown itself.

U.Today noted that engineers and community operators were manually reviewing the remaining logs to pinpoint and remove the flaw. While no patch or timeline was provided, Schwartz expressed that there was no cause for alarm, maintaining that the network still held enough operational buffer to keep running.

XRP price rose as engineers reviewed logs

Data from CoinGecko at 09:20 UTC on October 21 showed XRP changing hands at $1.36, marking a 4.67% increase over a 24-hour period.

?FAQ

01What two types of failure did Schwartz say could halt the XRP Ledger?

He described widespread simultaneous failures among validator servers, or a failure in consensus or another fundamental protocol function. He did not identify either as the cause of this slowdown.

02What connection state affected RPC access on Schwartz’s node?

The local RPC connections became stuck in the CLOSE_WAIT state. That prevented his monitoring system from capturing and sending diagnostics at the key moment.

03What action did Schwartz take after his node’s monitoring failed?

He rebooted his server after the monitoring system failed to provide the needed diagnostic information. The action concerned his node, not the ledger as a whole.

04Where was Schwartz’s node sending its logs?

It was sending them to an outdated XRP Ledger Foundation test host. The report says engineers and community operators were reviewing surviving logs manually.

05Who is examining the surviving logs?

Engineers and community operators were working through the remaining logs to isolate and eliminate the defect. The report did not provide a completion date or repair schedule.

This article is for information only and is not financial advice.