Know who can still change the rules
Good disclosure describes the authority that exists today, not just the project’s intentions.
Learn and inspect first. No wallet connection, seed entry, signing or transactions on this page.
Before you start
Bring the asset specification and trust-line worksheet. Understand that an address is public and a private key authorizes actions. Do not test account changes while learning this lesson.
Your outcome: Produce an authority and recovery map that describes the controls that actually remain, including alternative signing paths.
Review Wallet Basics · Jump to the guided worksheet · Common problems · What to keep
Words you will use
- Master key
- The account original signing key pair. Master signing can be disabled under ledger rules.
- Regular key
- A separately configured key with broad signing authority; not a view-only password.
- Quorum
- The minimum combined signer weight needed for a multi-signed transaction.
- Freeze versus clawback
- Freeze restricts movement of tokens; clawback can recover an issuer token balance when the capability is enabled. Neither applies to native XRP.
- Blackholing
- An attempt to remove usable account signing authority. Treat it as a permanent loss-of-control decision, not a safety rating.
Make an authority map
List the issuer, operational accounts, enabled master signing, regular key and signer list. A regular key can authorize most account actions; it is not merely a read-only API credential. Disabling master signing does not prove that all other signing routes are gone.
Use shared authority deliberately
A signer list assigns weights and a quorum. For example, three independent signers of weight one with quorum two requires enough valid signatures to reach two. This only protects the intended signing route: review any enabled master or regular key as well. Test recovery on a non-production network before moving authority.
Distinguish the controls
Issuer authorization controls who may hold a currency when required. Individual freeze restricts spending through a trust line; deep freeze adds receiving restrictions, with issuer-direct exceptions. Global freeze has broader effects. These token controls do not freeze native XRP. Clawback is a separate capability and should be disclosed separately; it is not another name for freeze.
Treat irreversible choices as irreversible
No Freeze permanently gives up individual and deep-freeze authority and the ability to clear a global freeze; it is not a general promise that no restriction can ever exist. Blackholing aims to remove usable signing authority. Neither label proves fair distribution, liquidity, backing or safe application code. Inspect actual account settings and every signing route rather than relying on a badge.
Check delegated permissions too
Where the network supports permission delegation, an account can authorize another account to perform specified actions. A delegate is not the same as a regular key or a signer on the owner account. Include existing delegation records and their exact permissions in a real authority review; a map containing only three key routes may be incomplete. Check current amendment support and the official permission-specific warnings before using this feature. This course does not configure delegation.
Official permission delegation guidance and current warnings
Map who can act for the club
Fictional Issuer A has master signing disabled, a regular key assigned, and a signer list of three people with weight one each and quorum two. This is an inspection example, not a suggested configuration.
- Draw a box for each account from lesson 1. Under each, list enabled master signing, regular key and signer-list route separately. Add unknown if the public record does not answer a question; do not request anyone secret to complete the map.
- For the signer-list route, calculate that any two weight-one signers reach quorum two, while one does not. Now circle the regular-key route: it is an alternative signing route. A two-person signer list does not force two-person control over every transaction while a separate single-key route remains.
- Write recovery scenarios on paper: one signer unavailable; two unavailable; one compromised; the regular-key custodian absent. State which actions remain possible and who decides to pause operations. A private off-ledger promise to require two approvals is not the same as ledger enforcement.
- List token controls separately from keys: required authorization, individual/deep/global freeze, No Freeze and clawback capability. Explain the effect on holders and the evidence you inspected. Do not translate a restriction on one token relationship into a restriction on XRP or every asset.
- Mark irreversible or order-sensitive choices. No Freeze cannot be undone. Trust-line clawback must be deliberately enabled under its account requirements before the issuer has populated its owner directory; it is not a recovery button an issuer can freely add later. Check the exact current AccountSet rules before implementation.
- Write a user disclosure with three columns: capability, present evidence and operating policy. Example: regular key present / observed account field / club says two staff approve its use. Label the last column as policy, not a protocol guarantee.
The website says nobody can alter the asset because master signing is disabled. Your map shows a regular key. Replace the claim with an accurate statement of the enabled routes and remaining capabilities. You do not have enough evidence to claim nobody knows a key, or to certify the team storage practices.
Optional: connect the worksheet to a public record
Inspect a public account using a read-only explorer: look for account flags, regular key, signer list and any delegation records supported by that network. Use the linked official definitions to interpret names. Capture public facts only, with their observation time. A missing explorer panel is not proof that an authority route does not exist; use complete ledger data or leave the item unresolved.
Official XRPL explorer directory · Network amendment references. Merely reading a public record does not need a wallet. Do not enter private or personal information in these exercises.
Common problems and what to check
Two signatures still fail
Inspect signer weights, quorum, authorized signer identities and the intended account/network. Do not weaken quorum or enable another key as a quick fix.
Freeze is described as destroying tokens
Separate a balance restriction from clawback or NFT burning. Ask for the exact asset standard and control being used.
A team wants to remove the final recovery route
Stop for a separately reviewed authority/recovery plan and isolated rehearsal. An ordinary application rollback cannot restore a lost signing route.
What to keep before moving on
Save the authority map and plain-English control disclosure. Have another person explain how the regular key changes the two-of-three example. If they cannot, improve the explanation before proceeding to the signing-flow lesson.
Explain your answer without looking at the worked example, then compare. If you guessed, revisit the relevant section. The checkboxes and quiz feedback stay on this page only; keep your project notes yourself.
Work through this example
A project says “master key disabled, therefore nobody can change anything.” Its account still has an enabled regular key. Is the conclusion supported?
Compare your reasoning
No. The regular key remains a signing route with broad powers. Inspect its presence and the signer list, then document which actions remain possible. Public evidence of account configuration cannot prove how securely somebody stores a secret or whether a private key is truly unknown.
Steps are for this page only; reloading resets them.
This is an inspection exercise, not a blackholing recipe. Do not disable keys, set irreversible flags or remove signers while following this lesson.
Check your understanding
Does disabling master signing disable a regular key too?
Can an issuer freeze native XRP using its token freeze controls?
Two-of-three signers exist alongside an enabled regular key. Is every action forced through two people?
Does freezing an issued token mean the issuer can freeze the holder native XRP?
Go deeper with official sources
- Account keys and permissions
- Multi-signing
- Freeze types and No Freeze
- Account settings
- Clawback is a separate control
- Issuer authorization
- Clawback capability and prerequisites
Technical references checked 3 October 2026. Network amendments, wallet support and reserve rules can change. Check current documentation before implementing real transactions.