XRP Ledger bug-fix amendment slips to Nov. 4 after validator support dips for two hours

Activation of fixCleanup3_4_0, a bundle of bug fixes for the XRP Ledger (XRPL), has been pushed back to Nov. 4. The amendment had been due to take effect on Oct. 23 at 6:34 p.m. KST, but validator support fell below the passing threshold for about two hours on the evening of Oct. 21, restarting its two-week countdown from scratch.

The XRP Ledger changes its network rules through amendments that validators vote on. An amendment takes effect only if more than 80% of the 35 validators on the default trusted list, or at least 29, support it without a break for two weeks. Support is checked every 256 ledgers, roughly every 15 minutes.

Holding at 29 votes, then slipping to 26

According to CoinDesk, the amendment had exactly 29 votes as of Oct. 19. Sitting right on the line, it would have restarted its countdown if even one validator withdrew. Support then fell to 26 votes at 9:54 p.m. KST on Oct. 21 and returned to 29 at 11:46 p.m. Amendment trackers do not show which validators dropped off and came back.

The XRP Ledger's own amendment status data also records fixCleanup3_4_0 as reaching the required majority at 14:46 UTC on Oct. 21. Adding two weeks gives 14:46 UTC on Nov. 4. As of the afternoon of Oct. 22, the XRPL Dashboard tracker showed 31 of 35 validators in favor, two above the threshold.

Closing an unauthorized minting gap and fixing loan math

The xrpld 3.4.0 release notes on xrpl.org, maintained by the XRP Ledger Foundation, list 12 fixes in fixCleanup3_4_0. CoinDesk highlighted two. One closes a gap that could let an account authorized only to burn tokens on an issuer's behalf create new tokens under certain conditions; the release notes describe it as rejecting PaymentBurn payments that cross a zero balance. The other changes how the lending code decides when a loan is late or in default, which affects vault and lending calculations.

Most of the remaining fixes address narrower errors. They stop accounts that block incoming trust lines from receiving tokens through offers (OfferCreate), stop AMM clawbacks (AMMClawback) from burning LP tokens while recovering zero, and correct rounding in vault deposits and withdrawals. The bundle also adds separate signing hash prefixes so a signature made for one role cannot be reused for another.

Lending has yet to start its countdown

The lending system that Ripple has pitched to banks and payment companies remains switched off. Depositors place assets in vaults that brokers then lend out. As of the afternoon of Oct. 22, the XRPL Dashboard showed 19 votes each for the lending amendment (LendingProtocol) and its extension (LendingProtocolV1_1), and 21 for the vault amendment (SingleAssetVault). All three are short of 29, so none has started its two-week countdown.

Even if the lending amendment crossed the threshold now, it would take at least two weeks to activate. On Sept. 25, the XRP Ledger also issued an emergency release, version 3.4.1, to fix security issues and asked server operators to upgrade quickly. At the time, xrpl.org said servers that did not upgrade would become "amendment blocked" after the new amendment took effect, unable to stay in sync with the network.

XRP at 1,793 won on Upbit, kimchi premium 0.8%

At 3:31 p.m. KST on Oct. 22, XRP traded at 1,793 won on Upbit's Korean won market, down 1.3% from the previous day. It was 1,792 won on Bithumb. At the same time, XRP was $1.3418 on Binance, or about 1,779 won. The kimchi premium (the gap between prices on Korean exchanges and global markets) on Upbit was about 0.8%.