XRP Ledger Fixes Flaw That Could Create 18 Trillion XRP
The XRP Ledger fixed a decade-old payment-engine vulnerability that could have allowed a crafted transaction to create about 18 trillion spendable XRP—far above its 100 billion supply cap. Security researcher Cayden Liao and Veria AI demonstrated the risk in a controlled test. Developers said they found no evidence of public-network exploitation or extra XRP creation. On September 25, an emergency xrpld 3.4.1 update was issued, bypassing the usual validator amendment vote; more than 80% of default validators had upgraded that day. The issue was publicly disclosed on October 9, when related amendments also went live. A separate flaw affecting the Batch feature was fixed before activation. Liao and Veria AI received a $250,000 bounty, and the XRP Ledger says it has paid more than $1 million in bug bounties. The incident highlights the importance of protocol security and validator coordination, but no user losses or supply changes were reported.
Neutral
The vulnerability could have seriously undermined confidence in XRP by threatening the ledger’s fixed supply, a risk that could have triggered sharp selling if exploited. However, developers patched the issue before public disclosure, validators upgraded quickly, and there is no evidence of exploitation, extra XRP creation or user losses. The separate Batch-feature flaw was also addressed before activation. In the short term, the disclosure may cause some volatility as traders assess the security risk, but the successful response limits the case for a sustained negative price effect. Over the longer term, transparent disclosure, bug bounties and coordinated upgrades may support confidence in XRP Ledger security. Since the reports identify no ongoing threat or supply change, the direct price impact on XRP is best categorized as neutral.