Ripple CTO David Schwartz Explains Why Surging XRP Fees Are Built-in Network Control

David Schwartz has shed fresh light on why transaction fees on the XRP Ledger can spike sharply during periods of intense usage, as the network recently approached one of its busiest phases in years.

XRP fees surge as network hits rare activity levels

The explanation follows a surge in activity on the XRP Ledger, where transaction counts climbed close to 200 per ledger, a level only seen a handful of times historically. On March 23, the network recorded 190 transactions in a single ledger, marking a one-year high and signalling renewed pressure on system capacity.

This are two very interesting things about fee escalation.

First, if there are more transactions than the network can comfortably clear, the fee will escalate to however high it has to be to keep the rate acceptable. If there’s even one TPS requested than the network can clear,…

— David ‘JoelKatz’ Schwartz (@JoelKatz) March 25, 2026

The spike didn’t go unnoticed. Critics flagged a rising “load factor,” noting that fees surged dramatically, reportedly burning over 1,400 XRP, as some nodes struggled to keep up. For many, it raised concerns about whether the network was nearing its limits. Schwartz, however, framed the situation differently: not as a failure, but as a built-in response mechanism.

Last month, The XRP Ledger Foundation patched a critical signature-validation flaw within a non-live amendment to Ripple’s XRP Ledger, averting a potential exploit that could have put billions in XRP at risk. The “critical logic flaw” was discovered on February 19 by security engineer Pranamya Keshkamat at Cantina, with the aid of the firm’s autonomous AI security bot.

How validators keep XRPL from breaking under pressure

According to Schwartz, fee increases are a deliberate feature designed to regulate demand. When transaction volume slightly exceeds what the network can comfortably process, around the 200 transactions-per-ledger range, fees rise automatically to reduce congestion.

Rather than relying on the fastest or slowest participants, XRPL validators collectively agree on a processing rate. This consensus typically requires a majority and can go as high as 80%, depending on validator alignment rules.

Each validator independently estimates network capacity based on recent activity, then applies an exponential fee model. As demand grows, the required fee climbs, filtering out lower-priority transactions and stabilizing performance.

The system also uses a queue, ranking transactions by the fees users are willing to pay, while maintaining fairness for earlier submissions with equal fees. During periods of stress, such as when consensus rounds stretch toward 12 seconds, validators can lower transaction limits per ledger, easing the load.

Schwartz emphasized that timing is everything. If fees rise too early, the network underutilizes its capacity. Too late, and parts of the system risk slowing down. Striking that balance, he noted, is what keeps the XRPL resilient, even under rare bursts of demand.