Ripple Inc. controls only 27% of the validator nodes list and their XRP token holdings are locked in an escrow contract making it impossible for them to withdraw as they please. This has increased the decentralization of the network to a new level.
Increase in Decentralization Through Relinquishing of Control
Up until recently, Ripple Inc. was in control of а majority of validator nodes that are on the Unique Nodes List and controlled a large portion of the XRP (roughly 53 billion tokens). Now their node control is below 30% and tokens being put in an escrow contract that will not allow free withdrawal at will. The transaction has to be approved of at least the remaining 78% of the remaining validators.
Over the years, Ripple (XRP) was criticized for being under the control of Ripple Inc, but now, the network is growing more and more decentralized. As the firm gradually loses validator nodes, new ones are joining in, like Alloy.ee, Bitso, NTT Communications, and Coil. Alloy is providing services for productivity app hosting, Bitso is a currency trading platform with a steady partnership with xRapid, NTT is a global provider of information and communication technology services while Coil is using XRP tokens and interledger protocols to incentivize online content creators. There are also other validators like BREX, Banhof, and Business Register Exchange. Even some giants like AT Tokyo, which are one of the leaders in the data center industry, and Worldlink are running validators on the UNL.
What is Ripple (XRP)?
So, what is XRP? It is a project aimed at providing global money transfers consisting of a network of payment providers like banks and other financial service businesses. While Bitcoin was never intended to play the role of a payment system, Ripple (XRP) definitely shoots for the stars and is working towards ruling international transactions. In other words, XRP is made to become the mediator for other exchanges, both fiat and cryptocurrency ones.
The first prototype of this system was created back in 2004, but many consider the real start point of its history starting in 2013 after the creator of EDonkey, Jed McCaleb, invited some of the biggest investors in the world to invest into RippleLabs. The founders of that firm are Chris Larsen, and McCaleb himself. One of the most unique aspects of Ripple was that it was blockchainless and has implemented its own technology called Ripple Protocol Consensus Algorithm (RPCA) in its place.