Who created XRP?
Reviewed by AllAboutXRP Editorial on August 24, 2026
Quick Answer
XRP and the XRP Ledger were created by David Schwartz, Jed McCaleb, and Arthur Britto. Development began in 2011, and the ledger went live in June 2012. Chris Larsen joined shortly after to co-found the company now known as Ripple.
Development of the system that became the XRP Ledger began in 2011 with David Schwartz, Jed McCaleb, and Arthur Britto. The ledger started operating in June 2012. Chris Larsen joined the business effort soon afterward, and the company eventually became Ripple.
What was created
The founders designed a ledger that could agree on transaction order without proof-of-work mining. All 100 billion XRP were created at inception. The creators retained 20 billion XRP and provided 80 billion to the company then called OpenCoin. These events are summarized in the official XRPL history.
The XRP Ledger and Ripple should not be collapsed into one entity. XRPL is open-source software and a public ledger. Ripple is a private company that develops payment, custody, and stablecoin products and contributes code to the ecosystem. Ripple's holdings and involvement are important facts, but they do not make XRP corporate stock.
Why the timeline matters
The sequence explains several recurring questions about control, supply, and the later SEC enforcement action. Legal conclusions should be stated separately from the technical history. The final U.S. judgment addressed particular offers and sales by Ripple, not the identity of the people who wrote the original ledger software. For the current case status, use the SEC's August 2025 litigation release.