XRP Ledger amendments: 80 percent for two weeks. How the rules change

Escrow, batch transactions, token escrow: every new capability of the XRP Ledger arrived the same way. Not by a company announcement, and not by a single software release, but through a vote that has to hold for two weeks.

The XRP Ledger documentation states it in one sentence: amendments must maintain two weeks of support from more than 80% of trusted validators to be enabled. Trusted means the validators on a server's Unique Node List, the same list consensus relies on.

1. The code ships. A new version of the server software contains the amendment, switched off.
2. Validators vote. Each validator operator decides whether to support it.
3. Day 0: support passes 80% of trusted validators. The two-week clock starts.
4. During the two weeks: if support drops below 80%, the amendment is temporarily rejected and the two-week period restarts.
5. Day 14: with support held above 80% throughout, the amendment is enabled and becomes part of the ledger's rules.

A server running software that does not know an enabled amendment cannot interpret the new rules. Rather than guess, it becomes amendment blocked: it can no longer determine whether a ledger is valid, submit or process transactions, take part in consensus, or vote on future amendments. Upgrading to the newest server version unblocks it.

• An enabled amendment is a change of rules, not a judgement on whether the feature will be used.
• The amendment status page on xrpl.org fills its dates in dynamically; for a specific amendment's activation, read the live status or the ledger itself, and note the date you read it.

Our own amendment tracker lists the amendments and their status: /xrpl-amendments.

XRP Ledger, Amendments: xrpl.org/docs/concepts/networks-and-servers/amendments

How the ledger governs itself is one of the threads of RIPPLE — An Unofficial Documentary Study, available in Hungarian, English, Spanish and German: /en/ripple/book. Unofficial publication, not affiliated with Ripple Labs, Inc.

Related: Unique Node List: whom consensus trusts · XRPL batch transactions live · XRPL

Educational content. Not investment advice.