Alex Dovbnya
The XRP Ledger Foundation, which claims to be an independent entity, has updated its UNL
According to a Tuesday announcement, Anodos Finance has been added to the XRP Ledger Foundation’s unique node list (UNL).
The list comprises a set of 35 validators that are considered to be trusted network participants.
Anodos Finance was added following the removal of Digifin.uk at the request of the former.
“Being part of the UNL means we are now one of the key players in maintaining the integrity and stability of the XRP Ledger. It’s a responsibility we accept with pride and excitement,” the project said in a statement.
In order to be included in the XRP Ledger Foundation’s UNL, the validator be “highly available” with production-grade infrastructure. A potential validator should be an active participant in the amendment voting process. Furthermore, the entity behind the validator candidate must be clearly identified.
The XRP Foundation, an independent non-profit entity, is one of the trusted publishers of UNLs alongside the XRP Foundation.
Centralization concerns
The XRP Ledger Foundation started publishing its list of recommended nodes three years ago. Prior to that, Ripple (the XRP Foundation) and Ripple-funded web monetization platform Coil were the only notable entities with their own UNLs. Coil, which was founded by former Ripple CTO Stefan Thomas, went bankrupt.
Other blockchain networks, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, do not rely on a predefined list of trusted notes for maintaining consensus. Ripple frequently attracted a fair amount of criticism due to centralized concerns since it used to provide a default curated list of nodes.
In fact, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission cited Ripple’s control over nodes that are validating transactions during its prolonged legal battle with the company.