Ripple’s CTO, David Schwartz , has surprised the XRP community by making his long-running XRPL Hub fully public for the first time. This hub, which was previously used only internally, is now open for anyone to view, complete with uptime records, peer information, and traffic charts. Schwartz said the node has been running on version 2.6.2 for over a month without a single issue. He even shared the hostname so operators can connect directly if they want. The charts show how many peers are connected, how much traffic flows through the hub, and how stable the latency has been. The hub is still operating below its capacity, so Schwartz has not needed to activate peer reservations yet.
Schwartz released this data at a time when the XRP community had been discussing XRPL programmability again. His update instantly became a focal point because it showed a rare level of openness from someone deeply involved in building the network. In the comments, Schwartz pushed back against the idea that the XRPL should add new features just so validators can earn more money. He said that this thinking does not align with how the XRP Ledger was designed and that upgrades should not be driven by profit motives alone.
He agreed that letting XRP holders earn yield is appealing, but he doesn’t believe that, by itself, is a strong enough reason to redesign major parts of the system.
According to Schwartz, the XRPL already has strong financial tools that should be used in more real-world situations, not only for fast payouts to a limited group. But he also stressed that adding complex smart-contract systems comes with risks. These kinds of upgrades require significant engineering work and can introduce unpredictable results.
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He explained that even well-built features, such as the AMM upgrade, do not automatically guarantee high usage. For any new functionality, the community needs clear evidence that it will drive real demand before making permanent changes.
With this hub disclosure, Schwartz is signaling that transparency is now a key priority. At the same time, he wants the XRPL to evolve carefully, focusing on upgrades that bring genuine value rather than complexity for its own sake. Hence, it is clear that the future of XRPL should be based on real demand and solid data, not assumptions or quick fixes.
On the price front, XRP closed the third quarter on a strong footing, finishing at a new all-time high of $2.85. It jumped 27.2% from the previous quarter, while its circulating market cap climbed 29% to $170.3 billion. This rise was much stronger than the combined 13.3% market cap growth of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana during the same period, putting XRP ahead of the broader market .
