Consensus Network

The XRP Ledger uses a consensus algorithm to resolve the double spend problem and choose which transactions to execute in which order. Consensus also governs rules of transaction processing.

  • Consensus

    Understand the role of consensus in the XRP Ledger.

  • Consensus Principles and Rules

    The rules and principles of the consensus algorithm that allow users to transfer funds (including fiat currencies, digital currencies and other forms of value) across national boundaries as seamlessly as sending an email.

  • Consensus Protections Against Attacks and Failure Modes

    Learn how the XRP Ledger Consensus Protocol is protected against various problems and attacks that may occur in a decentralized financial system.

  • Invariant Checking

    Understand what Invariant Checking is, why it exists, how it works, and what invariant checks are active.

  • Negative UNL

    Understand how Negative UNL improves the ledger's resilience during partial outages.

  • Transaction Queue

    Understand how transactions can be queued before reaching consensus.

  • About Canceling a Transaction

    Understand when and how it's possible to cancel a transaction that has already been sent.

  • Transaction Malleability

    Be aware of ways transactions could be changed to have a different hash than expected.

  • Amendments

    Amendments represent new features or other changes to transaction processing. Validators coordinate through consensus to apply these upgrades to the XRP Ledger in an orderly fashion.

  • Fee Voting

    How validators vote on fees (transaction cost and reserve requirements).

  • Consensus Research

    Scholarly articles on consensus algorithms and related research.

  • Parallel Networks

    Understand how test networks and alternate ledger chains relate to the production XRP Ledger.

  • Federated Sidechains

    Learn about federated sidechains, which enable value in the form of XRP and other tokens (IOUs) to move efficiently between a sidechain and the XRP Ledger.