Ripple CTO addresses the case of missing XRP transactions from 2012, claims Ripple did not create XRP

As opposed to the belief in the XRP holder community, the native token of XRPLedger was not created by Ripple. The cross-border payment remittance firm’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO) dismissed the claim.

David Schwartz explained that Ripple’s incorporation happened three months post XRP token’s launch. The community has questioned the missing transactions on the XRP blockchain between June and November 2012, Schwartz explained how there are no records as binary formats changed.

Also read: Ripple receives nod to rollout digital asset services in Singapore, bolstering XRP price rally

XRP was created by three engineers, not Ripple Labs

Ripple Labs CTO David Schwartz has shed light on the creation of XRPLedger’s native token XRP. While most XRP holders and community members believe Ripple Labs is the parent of XRP, Schwartz counters the belief. 

Ripple CTO explained how Ripple Labs Inc. was incorporated months after XRP token’s launch. Three engineers, David Schwartz, Jed McCaleb, and Arthur Britto, began the XRPLedger’s development in 2011. The engineers set out to improve Bitcoin and come up with a sustainable token built specifically for payments. 

Schwartz explains why transactions from the first six months of 2012 are missing

XRPLedger went through a change in binary formats in 2012, shortly after Ripple Labs was incorporated. The developers of the blockchain didn’t save a copy of the transaction history from June to November 2012 and instead, started afresh.

Schwartz explains this in his tweet:

The binary formats changed so updated tools couldn't understand then. We just discarded the old data when we did this. While there could have been third parties keeping copies, I don't know of any.

At the time of writing, no third party has come forward with a copy of transactions.