diff --git a/include/xrpl/proto/xrpl.proto b/include/xrpl/proto/xrpl.proto
index 468034ad3a..16bd7d2e12 100644
--- a/include/xrpl/proto/xrpl.proto
+++ b/include/xrpl/proto/xrpl.proto
@@ -95,9 +95,8 @@ message TMPublicKey {
 // Older peers that do not understand field 1001 will simply ignore it
 // per protobuf wire-format rules, preserving backwards compatibility.
 //
-// trace_state is reserved for future use (secure tracing pipeline,
-// OpenTelemetryPlan/secure-OTel.md). It is currently neither populated
-// on inject nor read on extract; consumers must not rely on it.
+// trace_state is reserved for future use. It is currently neither
+// populated on inject nor read on extract; consumers must not rely on it.
 message TraceContext {
   optional bytes trace_id = 1;      // 16-byte trace identifier
   optional bytes span_id = 2;       // 8-byte parent span identifier
diff --git a/include/xrpl/telemetry/TraceContextPropagator.h b/include/xrpl/telemetry/TraceContextPropagator.h
index e8d851e53e..9933e79292 100644
--- a/include/xrpl/telemetry/TraceContextPropagator.h
+++ b/include/xrpl/telemetry/TraceContextPropagator.h
@@ -101,13 +101,10 @@ injectToProtobuf(opentelemetry::context::Context const& ctx, protocol::TraceCont
     // Serialize flags
     proto.set_trace_flags(spanCtx.trace_flags().flags());
 
-    // TODO(observability/secure-OTel): the protobuf TraceContext message
-    // also carries `trace_state` (field 4), which is currently neither
-    // populated here nor read by extractFromProtobuf above. The field is
-    // reserved for the secure tracing pipeline outlined in
-    // OpenTelemetryPlan/secure-OTel.md, where an authenticated token in
-    // tracestate will let receivers reject spoofed/poisoned trace context.
-    // Wire trace_state through inject/extract once the consumer lands.
+    // TODO: the protobuf TraceContext message also carries `trace_state`
+    // (field 4), which is currently neither populated here nor read by
+    // extractFromProtobuf above. The field is reserved for future use;
+    // wire it through inject/extract once a consumer lands.
 }
 
 }  // namespace xrpl::telemetry
diff --git a/src/xrpld/app/consensus/RCLConsensus.cpp b/src/xrpld/app/consensus/RCLConsensus.cpp
index 35f5ed2131..5d8fb2ae5f 100644
--- a/src/xrpld/app/consensus/RCLConsensus.cpp
+++ b/src/xrpld/app/consensus/RCLConsensus.cpp
@@ -274,9 +274,9 @@ RCLConsensus::Adaptor::propose(RCLCxPeerPos::Proposal const& proposal)
 
     app_.getHashRouter().addSuppression(suppression);
 
-    // Inject the current thread's active span context (e.g. the
-    // consensus round span from Phase 4) so receiving peers can link
-    // their proposal.receive span as a child of this trace.
+    // Inject the current thread's active span context (e.g. the consensus
+    // round span) so receiving peers can link their proposal.receive span
+    // as a child of this trace.
     telemetry::SpanGuard::injectCurrentContextToProtobuf(*prop.mutable_trace_context());
 
     app_.getOverlay().broadcast(prop);
diff --git a/src/xrpld/app/consensus/RCLConsensus.h b/src/xrpld/app/consensus/RCLConsensus.h
index 1ada9e7ee9..a7057e2f3a 100644
--- a/src/xrpld/app/consensus/RCLConsensus.h
+++ b/src/xrpld/app/consensus/RCLConsensus.h
@@ -127,9 +127,9 @@ class RCLConsensus
          *
          *  Captured in makeAcceptSpan() and consumed by createValidationSpan()
          *  on the jtACCEPT worker thread so the validation.send span can be
-         *  follows-from linked to consensus.accept (matching the design doc
-         *  and span hierarchy diagram). Reset on each startRoundTracing()
-         *  to prevent a stale prior-round context from being linked.
+         *  follows-from linked to consensus.accept. Reset on each
+         *  startRoundTracing() to prevent a stale prior-round context from
+         *  being linked.
          *
          *  Thread safety: same model as roundSpanContext_. The write in
          *  makeAcceptSpan happens on the main consensus thread under
diff --git a/src/xrpld/telemetry/ConsensusReceiveTracing.h b/src/xrpld/telemetry/ConsensusReceiveTracing.h
index 03974c5473..0a1a4458dc 100644
--- a/src/xrpld/telemetry/ConsensusReceiveTracing.h
+++ b/src/xrpld/telemetry/ConsensusReceiveTracing.h
@@ -34,7 +34,8 @@
  *
  * @note Span names come from the canonical constants in
  *  ConsensusSpanNames.h (consensus::span::proposalReceive /
- *  validationReceive) so they stay in sync with the rest of Phase 4.
+ *  validationReceive) so they stay in sync with the rest of the
+ *  consensus tracing surface.
  */
 
 #include <xrpl/consensus/ConsensusSpanNames.h>