On the XRP Ledger, no single entity controls transaction fees. Instead, fee levels are determined through a decentralized voting process among trusted validators. Every 15 minutes, validators express their preferred fee settings, and the network automatically adopts the median value.

Fee voting allows the network to adapt transaction costs and reserve requirements over time without hard forks or centralized decisions. Validators express preferences; the network converges on the median.

The Flag Ledger Process

Every 256th ledger is a flag ledger (ledger_index mod 256 equals 0). Since ledgers close every 3-4 seconds, a flag ledger occurs roughly every 15 minutes. Validators whose preferred fee settings differ from current settings broadcast a vote message alongside their ledger validation.

Median Voting and SetFee Transactions

Each validator calculates the median preference across its trusted UNL. If the median differs from the current network setting, the validator proposes a SetFee pseudo-transaction. When a majority of validators agree, it takes effect in the following ledger.

• Fee voting occurs via flag ledgers every ~15 minutes
• The network adopts the median of trusted validator preferences
• SetFee pseudo-transactions implement approved changes
• Both transaction costs and reserve requirements are governed by voting
• Validators configure preferences in rippled.cfg