Ripple Code Leak Suggests Direct XRP Tie to ISO 20022 Standard

• SMQKE also revealed code snippets from the R3 Corda platform linking Ripple’s XRP and SWIFT protocols.
• While these findings hint at possible integration with traditional financial systems, their broader implications remain contested within the XRP community.

An ongoing debate in the XRP community about ISO 20022 compatibility has gained renewed energy from a recent discovery by a community researcher. The researcher, known as “SMQKE,” shared images from Ripple’s JSON schema that include references to “ISO20022 ExternalClearingSystemIdentificationCode List” within the “externalClearingSystem” field. This evidence is understood by a few as objectively demonstrating XRP’s capability for institutional payment infrastructure.

SMQKE Reveals That Ripple’s JSON References ISO 20022 Standard

In addition, SMQKE presented snippets from the R3 Corda platform’s code that link both XRP and SWIFT protocols. Lines in the module list imports such as XrpPayment, XrpSettlement, SWIFTService, and SWIFTPaymentStatusType. Evidence that XRP and traditional financial systems might integrate is possible, but the wider XRP community is not uniformly certain about its implications.

David Schwartz, Ripple’s CTO, has previously clarified a number of misunderstandings about XRP’s function in these systems. In a detailed breakdown, Schwartz explained: It should be noted that XRP bears no relation to ISO 20022. Schwartz: 

ISO 20022 is a messaging standard for payments, XRP is a cryptocurrency. While there could certainly be projects using both of these things, there is no real inherent overlap between them,

He further advised that these technical specifications should not be seen as signs of greater institutional involvement. “If you’re imagining that there’s some massive secret, you’re imagining. You can imagine anything about anything. Imagining things doesn’t justify believing them. Be excited about what is actually there or build things,” Schwartz stated.

The Difference Between RippleNet & XRP Ledger

In order to make Ripple’s infrastructure clearer, Schwartz explained the difference between RippleNet and the XRP Ledger. According to him, “RippleNet is totally different from the XRP Ledger.” “RippleNet is an enterprise payment system that eliminates barriers to using XRP(L) for the source or destination or bridge in enterprise payments.” He described RippleNet as “a private network based on early versions of ILP.”

In response to wider perceptions within the Ripple community, Schwartz clarified that XRP cannot become a reserve of precious metals or act as a stablecoin. Schwartz said, “XRP can’t be pegged to gold, silver or anything else. XRP can’t magically become a stablecoin.”

The new revelations from SMQKE regarding the codebase have fueled further discussion around XRP’s institutional use, but Ripple’s executives remain cautious about expectations. Thus, Schwartz emphasized that XRP and the XRPL are transparent systems: “XRP and the XRPL really are ‘what you see is what you get.’”