Consensus
The process by which XRP Ledger validators agree on the order and outcome of transactions.
In each round, validators propose a set of candidate transactions, compare it with the sets proposed by the validators they trust, and iterate until a supermajority agrees. The agreed set is applied and the ledger is declared validated.
Because agreement is reached by voting rather than by solving a puzzle, there is no block reward and no energy race — and once a ledger is validated, it is final.
Related terms
Validator
A server that participates in XRP Ledger consensus by proposing and voting on transaction sets.
Unique Node List (UNL)
The list of validators a given server trusts when it evaluates consensus.
XRP Ledger (XRPL)
The open-source blockchain that XRP runs on, settling transactions by validator consensus rather than mining.