Ripple Joins DeRec Alliance for Asset Recovery Initiative

Ripple has joined Swirlds Labs and the Algorand Foundation as a founding member of the DeRec Alliance. The initiative aims to simplify the adoption and recovery of digital assets.

We are excited to announce that @Ripple and @XRPLLabs have joined @swirldslabs and @AlgoFoundation as Founding Members of the Decentralized Recovery Alliance, with two-year seats on the Technical Oversight Committee providing input on governance and core Alliance policies. #DeRec… pic.twitter.com/APP4Z70jIC

— Decentralized Recovery Alliance (@DeRecAlliance) May 9, 2024

In January, Hedera co-founder Limon Baird conceived the DeRec Alliance as an open-source project to develop a methodology and industry standard for convenient, secure, and decentralized asset recovery for all wallets.

“As Web3 goes mainstream, application providers want to make user interaction seamless, convenient, and simple enough for widespread adoption among millions worldwide. Today, this requires a highly skilled user willing to undertake the burdensome task of securing their online secrets like accounts, keys, and passwords,” the statement reads.

The initiative was initially launched by participants from the Hedera and Algorand ecosystems. Ripple and its XRPL Labs division have now joined as members of the Technical Oversight Committee with two-year terms.

The project also collaborates with Acoer, BankSocial, Blade Labs, The Building Blocks, Casper Association, Constellation Network, The Hashgraph Association, The HBAR Foundation, and Revive Labs.

“As we work towards mass adoption [of cryptocurrencies] in retail trading, it becomes increasingly clear that advanced and user-friendly key recovery solutions are crucial. The DeRec Alliance has emerged at a critical moment, bringing together experts to enhance interoperability and simplify consumer interaction without compromising security,” commented XRPL Labs CEO Vince Wind.

BankSocial CEO John Wingate also noted that the initiative addresses one of the most significant challenges of self-custody of digital assets—the risk of irreversible loss.

According to Blade Labs CEO Sami Mian, such incidents are a “terrible user experience” and hinder cryptocurrency adoption.

The decentralized DeRec protocol being developed within the project allows for the recovery of private information even if a smartphone or other two-factor authentication device is lost. The solution uses anonymous “helpers” who store data fragments without knowing what these parts are or how many exist.

Ethereum developer Tim Beiko has reported that the upcoming Pectra update will enable the recovery of private keys.