On September 14, XRP Ledger registered a record number of transactions in a single ledger, processing 3,254 transactions. This figure was announced by validator operator Vet, who noted that most transactions consisted of transfers of one drop of XRP – the minimum unit of currency in the network. Vet stated: “3,254 transactions in one block a few hours ago on XRP Ledger. A new record.” He linked his assessment of the activity to possible testing of the network's capacity, although the sender's intentions remained unclear.
Despite the high transaction volume, Vet clarified that this record does not indicate an increase in the permanent capacity of this ledger. Unlike other networks, XRP Ledger uses an adaptive transaction target that can change depending on the validators' performance. If there are more transactions in the ledger than the current target, the network can increase this target provided that the frequency of ledger closures remains within the expected range. Vet explained: “not all transactions are equal in load,” and a large number of simple payments does not always create the same load on validators as more complex transactions involving decentralized exchanges or cross-currency operations.
The record was noted against the backdrop of preparations for significant protocol updates introduced with the release of version xrpld 3.3.0 on August 6. These updates include new features such as BatchV1_1 and ConfidentialTransfer and require support from 80% of validators for automatic activation. However, the current activity with a record number of transactions did not allow for changes in the permanent capacity of the network. On the contrary, statistics confirm that high activity with large volumes of simple payments does not always indicate a significant improvement in network performance in the long term.
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