XRPL Labs Founder Confirms Xahau Success Will not Lead to Abandonment of XRP Ledger

Wietse Wind, Xumm developer and founder of XRPL Labs, recently declared his team’s continuous commitment to developing the XRP Ledger (XRPL).

Wind confirmed that for the past two and a half years, his team stayed busy with contributions to the XRPL, as they have continued to build the Hooks feature and the recently-introduced Xahau network since then. This commitment, he claimed, will not end now.

The @XRPLLabs team has been building Hooks and what now becomes Xahau … for 2.5 years now.

Did we seem less active on XRPL mainnet the past 2.5 years?

Nope. And our contributions and commitment to the XRPL ledger won’t end now.

One ecosystem. One audience. More features. https://t.co/hS12G2Yznx

— WietseWind (🛠+🪝 Xumm @ XRPL Labs) (@WietseWind) October 29, 2023

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Growing XRPL vs Xahau Debates

The comment from Wind came from a lengthy conversation in the XRP community bordering on the prospect of XRPL in the wake of the potential launch of Xahau, a sidechain linked with the XRP Ledger.

The ongoing debate centers on the predefined monetization for each of the 8 Governance Game validator seats designated for Xahau at launch. These early validators will receive 12 million XAH, with proponents arguing that using the Burn2Mint feature to convert XRP to the protocol’s native token, XRP+, is not ideal.

Based on the commingled developer base for both Xahau and XRPL, critics highlighted how, upon departure, Xahau developers would no longer prioritize the XRPL, a position that drew comments from Wind.

In his argument, Wind noted that the development of Xahau came about because Hooks, a smart contract proposal for XRPL, needed a platform to operate before going live on the mainnet. While Xahau currently powers Hooks, the developer said he hopes its deployment on the mainnet will happen someday.

Despite the claims that he and his team will abandon XRPL someday, WietseWind confirmed that the infrastructure work he will focus on will encompass XRPL and Xahau with no preference. In all, he shared a disclaimer that some of the things the team will build in the next five years include what they need Xahau to stand for primarily.

Growth of Xahau, Gain for XRPL

As a sidechain, experts have projected that the innovations Xahau stands for will have a positive impact on the XRPL. Additionally, Ripple CTO David Schwartz believes the emergence of Xahau will not diminish the worth of XRPL and XRP.

Wind also echoed this sentiment, noting that most innovations that emerge from Xahau can someday make it to the mainnet if the community deems them relevant.