Ripple CTO David Schwartz addressed a recent controversy surrounding Ripple's smart contract plans. 

As reported by U.Today, the company recently revealed a plan to add smart contract functionality in 2025. 

However, the announcement was met with criticism from Wietse Wind, a developer who has been active in the XRPL community since 2016.

Wind, the CEO of XRP Labs, says that his software development firm initially introduced a layer-1 smart contract solution called Hooks four years ago. He noted that their efforts had culminated with the launch of the Xahau sidechain that allows people to experiment with hooks. 

The developer stated that the company experienced "mixed emotions" after finding out about Ripple's new programmability efforts given that this shift took place "frustratingly late."

Wind took aim at Schwartz, arguing that Ripple suddenly changed its tune on smart contracts despite the fact that the CTO rejected the idea of bringing smart contracts to the XRP Ledger just three months ago. Such "whimsical pivots" do not bode well for a thriving ecosystem, according to Wind. "Ripple faces a clear choice: embrace and support the existing, proven Hooks technology on the mainnet, or pursue a separate path that risks alienating dedicated developers and fracturing the ecosystem," he added. 

"There was no call"

In response to Wind's scathing criticism, Schwartz said that the RippleX team had had a call with West before publishing the controversial post. The Ripple CTO also praised Hooks for its innovative approach. "You're right that I have changed my thoughts on programmability recently, and you absolutely recognized the need for it much earlier," he added. 

However, Wind said that there was only a brief message instead of a call. 

At the same time, the developer says that he is still excitement about what is coming to the mainnet.