Founder of XRP Labs, Wietse Wind, recently addressed the community and Ripple regarding the introduction of native smart contract functionality on the XRP Ledger. Wind, renowned for his work on the Xaman wallet and Hooks, a smart contract feature on the XRP Ledger, has expressed disappointment and frustration with Ripple’s shift in strategy.

Concerns About the XRP Ledger Ecosystem

In an open letter, Wind conveyed his concerns about the lack of transparency and collaboration from Ripple, especially considering the efforts put into developing Hooks. He highlighted the journey from concept to operational feature and noted the significant challenges faced along the way.

Wind criticized Ripple’s sudden change in stance on smart contract functionality, citing past statements from David Schwartz, Ripple’s CTO, which contradicted the recent decision. This shift has left Wind feeling disillusioned and questioning Ripple’s commitment to genuine community collaboration.

Expressing his disappointment, Wind emphasized the efforts poured into developing Hooks and the potential disregard for this work with Ripple’s new direction. He urged Ripple to reconsider its strategic choices to avoid alienating dedicated developers who have contributed to the ledger’s innovation.

Wind concluded with a strong message, indicating that Ripple’s upcoming decisions will determine the future of smart contracts on the XRP Ledger and whether the company truly values ecosystem contributions or prefers a more centralized, corporate-driven approach to development.

As of the latest update, the XRP was trading at $0.5692.