Ripple CTO David Schwartz recently addressed questions on X about the clawback feature on the XRP Ledger, clarifying that XRP itself cannot be clawed back, as it has no issuer.

The discussion arose when a user asked whether clawback could be used to recover XRP lost through scams. Schwartz responded negatively, emphasizing that only a token issuer can initiate a clawback. Since XRP has no issuer, such a mechanism is not possible, he noted, cautioning that even suggesting otherwise could encourage refund scams.

The clawback feature, which was enabled on the XRP Ledger in August 2024 through the clawback amendment, allows certain issued tokens to be recovered under specific conditions. The AMM clawback amendment of January 2025 extended this capability to tokens deposited into Automated Market Maker (AMM) pools, including Ripple USD stablecoin (RLUSD), a clawback-enabled token tradable directly on the XRP Ledger’s decentralized exchange.

Clawback functionality is generally designed for regulatory or compliance needs. For example, an issuer might recover tokens sent to accounts flagged for illegal activity. However, this feature requires issuer initiation and is not automatic. Additionally, Multi-Purpose Tokens (MPTs) can be clawed back if the clawback amendment was enabled during issuance, a capability introduced by MPTokenv1amendment in January 2025.

In contrast, XRP itself is not a token in this sense. Its total supply is fixed at 100 billion, created at the ledger’s launch in 2012, with no mining or further issuance possible. As Schwartz emphasized, this ensures XRP cannot be clawed back under any circumstances, distinguishing it from issuer-backed tokens on the ledger.