Ripple and XRPL Labs are now members in the Decentralized Recovery (DeRec) Alliance, joining other blockchain organizations including Swirlds Labs, developer of Hedera, and the Algorand Foundation.
This alliance is led by Hedera co-founder Leemon Baird and aims to facilitate the recovery of digital assets through an open-source process that improves interoperability across various blockchain networks.
The DeRec Alliance also includes members such as Acoer, BankSocial, Blade Labs, The Building Blocks, Casper Association, Constellation Network, The Hashgraph Association, The HBAR Foundation, and Revive Labs. These members collaborate to develop a new standard for interoperability recovery, addressing the needs of users who may lack extensive knowledge in cryptocurrencies.
Leemon Baird commented “In this digital age, users need a safety net for when they lose keys or passwords or other secrets. This is needed for both web2 and web3, and is critical to bringing these technologies to the majority of the world. It is great to see the industry working together to build DeRec Alliance to address this need.”
The DeRec Alliance was initially formed through a partnership between the Algorand Foundation and Swirlds Labs in January 2023.
The alliance’s protocol is designed to establish a standardized system for managing secrets with the help of designated helpers. These helpers can aid in recovering secrets without ever directly accessing the secret itself, ensuring both privacy and security are maintained.
Wietse Wind, Founder and CEO of XRP Labs, further explains “As we work towards mass retail adoption, it’s becoming increasingly clear that advanced yet user-friendly solutions for key recovery are essential. The DeRec Alliance comes at a critical moment, uniting experts to enhance interoperability and simplify the user experience without compromising security.”
Earlier in April, Ripple Labs responded to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) recent demand for $2 billion in penalties, arguing that the amount should be substantially reduced to $10 million. The legal stance was disclosed in a court document filed late Monday.
The SEC’s hefty penalty suggestion last month is part of an ongoing legal battle where the commission accused Ripple of illegally raising $1.3 billion through unregistered securities sales of its XRP token to institutional investors. In contrast, Ripple has contended that these penalties are excessively punitive and unwarranted given the nature of the allegations, which do not include accusations of recklessness or fraud.
