XRP Ledger bug fix delayed to November after validator support drops briefly

A brief drop resets the countdown

A two-hour dip in validator support has pushed the XRP Ledger's bug fix back to November, less than two days before it was due to go live. The fix, called fixCleanup3_4_0, had been set to activate at 09:34 UTC on Oct. 23.

Validators are independent servers that agree on which transactions count on a blockchain (a shared digital record of transactions). Changing the network's rules needs backing from more than 80% of the 35 validators the network trusts by default, which is 29.

Support fell below the threshold

At a checkpoint at 12:54 UTC on Wednesday, support slipped to 26 of 35 validators. That broke the required run of 14 straight days of support at or above 29. When support dipped below the threshold, even briefly, the clock reset to zero.

By 14:46 UTC, support was back to 29 and a fresh countdown began. The fix is now set to go live at 14:46 UTC on Nov. 4, according to XRPLWin. Support has since climbed to 31 of 35.

What the patch does

The fix closes a loophole that could let an account allowed only to burn (destroy) an issuer's tokens create new ones under certain conditions. It also adjusts how the lending code decides when a loan is late or in default.

This code is part of a lending system that Ripple has pitched to banks and payment companies, but that broader lending system has not secured enough validator support to begin its own activation countdown.

Sources

• CoinDesk


• xrpld 3.4.0 release notes


• XRPL Dashboard


• XRPLWin