Hubble tension or distance ladder crisis?

We present an up-to-date compilation of published Hubble constant (H₀) measurements that are independent of the cosmic microwave background sound horizon scale. This compilation is split in two distinct groups: A. Distance ladder measurements sample comprising of 20 recent measurements, primarily from the past four years, utilizing various rung 2 calibrators and rung 3 cosmic distance indicators. B. One-step measurements sample including 33 measurements of H₀ that are independent of both the cosmic microwave background sound horizon scale and the distance ladder approach. These 33 measurements are derived from diverse probes such as cosmic chronometers, gamma-ray attenuation, strong lensing, megamasers etc. Statistical analysis reveals a significant distinction between the two samples. The distance ladder-based sample yields a best fit H₀=72.8±0.5 km s^-1 Mpc^-1 with χ²/d.o.f.=0.51 indicating some correlations. The one-step measurements result in H₀=69.0±0.48 km s^-1 Mpc^-1 with χ²/d.o.f.=1.37 indicating some internal tension. If two outlier measurements are removed (TDCOSMO.I-2019 known to have systematics and MCP-2020), then the best fit of the one-step sample reduces to H₀=68.3±0.5 km s^-1 Mpc^-1 with χ²/d.o.f.=0.95, fully self-consistent and consistent with sound horizon based measurements. An alternative, restricted subsample of the one-step measurements with correlated measurements removed, leads to a best fit H₀=68.5±0.8 km s^-1 Mpc^-1 with χ²/d.o.f.=1.08 demonstrating the robustness of our results. These findings suggest that the core of the Hubble tension lies not between early and late-time measurements, but between distance ladder measurements and all other H₀ determinations. These findings suggest that understanding the origin of the Hubble tension requires careful investigation of both possible systematic effects and potential new physics affecting cosmic distance ladder measurements.