XRP (XRP)

Official Website: https://www.ripple.com/

What is XRP?

Ripplenet is an open source protocol designed by Ripple for fast and cheap transaction, through a digital asset that is being employed in commercial payments by a financial institution. XRP is the token that is used to constitute the transfer of value across the ripple network.

XRP/Ripple differs from Bitcoin and other popular Cryptocurrencies as it was created with the desire to achieve a solution that provides a untroubled way to send money globally, for banking, money service businesses and other payment providers. This is done through their 2 main services xCurrent and xRapid.

XRP is used and developed by Ripple and is the actual cryptocurrency and this is where some confusion may lie, as some think they are one and the same thing. Essentially, XRP is the bridge between the two currencies that are being transferred, whether that be other cryptocurrencies or fiat exchanges, acting as a mediator. Additionally, you can trade and store XRP just like any other Cryptocurrency.

XRP Statistics
Circulating Supply 42,890,708,341 XRP
Maximum Supply 100,000,000,000 XRP
All Time High $3.84
Blockchain Statistics
Consensus Algorithm Ripple Protocol Consensus Algorithm (RCPA)
Average Block Time N/A
Transaction Cost 0.00001 XRP
Transaction Speed 1500 tx/s
Mining N/A
Staking N/A
Block Explorer https://bithomp.com/explorer/
Social Media Statistics
Twitter Followers 937,000
Telegram Group Users 33,003
Reddit 204,000

Team

Launched in 2012, XRP was created by San Francisco-based fintech company Ripple. The founders are composed of angel investor and privacy activist Chris Larsen, programmer and entrepreneur Jed McCaleb who is well known for founding several cryptocurrency companies including Ripple Labs, Stellar, eDonkey and Overnet.

Ripple is currently led by a larger team, including some such as CEO Brad Garlinghouse, who has had experience as a CEO at collaboration service Hightail, also being President of Consumer Applications at AOL. Another notable member of Ripple is Chief Technology Officer David Schwartz, who previously has developed encrypted cloud storage and messaging systems for the National Security Agency (NSA) and CNN. This team and their 350+ employees are constantly developing Ripple, Ripplenet, XRP (XRP), xCurrent and xRapid to advance for a more frictionless global payment system, in the aim to increase speed, reduce cost and provide more access.

Roadmap – RippleNet

The XRP roadmap differs to other cryptocurrencies. They have 4 key focuses instead, which they believe will help them to create a new global payments infrastructure. XRP is being used increasingly for cross-border payments providing customers with real-time, low cost and fully trackable payments on a global scale. This is the primary use case for XRP and through Ripple Net, innovates on existing global payment networks.

The four main focuses of RippleNet are:

Access –Payment Suppers, Banks and others working with new partners in foreign markets, produce bespoke connections that are frequently burdensome and more expensive than need be.

Speedy Payments –RippleNet’s pathfinding and instant settlement, ensured payments are routed from the originator to the recipient, and once the route has been chosen, payments are settled instantly.

Payment Certainty – The transacting parties are also aware of the associated costs, and hence the amount the recipient will receive. This is because RippleNet’s messenger API allows financial institutions to exchange KYC requirements, payment details, fees, FX rates, and therefore the expected delivery time of the funds.

Lower Cost – The originating currency is converted to XRP on a domestic digital asset exchange, sent across the XRP Ledger and then it is converted back to fiat at an exchange in the destination country, all in an instant. This is all done to lower the cost. The average transaction cost is 0.00001 XRP which is approximately £0.0000025.

Mining

XRP cannot be mined in the traditional sense as other Cryptocurrencies can. Instead 100 Billion XRP coins launched the currency at its genesis. However, 60% of the entire supply of XRP as of January 2019 was stil held by Ripple Labs. They sell XRP to strategic partners such as payment processors, banks and cryptocurrency exchanges growing the Ripple Network. Releasing up to 1 billion XRP a month ‘to grow the team, business and ecosystem’. This numbers of payment institutions on boarded and accepting XRP in turn increases liquidity and global demand.

xCurrent vs xRapid

xCurrent is the software solution that allows banks to immediately settle cross-border payments with end-to-end tracking. xCurrent allows banks to message each other in real-time to confirm payment details prior to initiating the transaction and to confirm delivery once it settles.

xRapid is used by the banks to transfer money and value from one country to another. However, it uses XRP to settle between any 2 forms of currency, including other cryptocurrencies. This allows banks to quickly and cheaply settle globally, saving banks from 40% up to 70% over the existing SWIFT payment network.

More than 100 banks and companies have signed up to use the xCurrent system to help them transfer money more quickly and efficiently. Though xCurrent doesn’t use XRP tokens, but instead uses ILP and bi -directional messaging to settle the 2 banks ledgers. XRP tokens are used in the xRapid system and have some major transfer services and banks such as WesternUnion and Mercury FX signed up to using the system.

Where to Store Ripple (XRP)

Although Ripple does not officially endorse or make any representations with regards to digital wallets on their website, Like other cryptocurrencies, there are many wallets compatible with storing and holding XRP. The popular hardware wallet providers such as Ledger and Trezor are integrated with XRP and an XRP wallet come as a standard cryptocurrency on all their devices.

Providers such as Toast Wallet and exodus are also great for storing, sending and receiving any XRP you may already have or are looking to purchase. It is highly recommended that you ensure you are using a secure wallet, create back-ups and store any confidential recovery information. As well as, complete your own research and due diligence. 

Where to Buy Ripple (XRP)

You can currently buy XRP on the Binance website under the ‘Buy Coins’ page, as well as selling XRP under the ‘Sell Coins’ page. Here you will also be able to find their email to contact for any exchanges or trades you would like to make using XRP.

Conclusion

In conclusion, XRP has received substantial backing from existing financial institutions. It is being broadly implemented by many banks and payment processers improving the RippleNet, which seeks to be a solution to a lot of current cross-border banking issues using blockchain and a decentralized infrastructure, reducing time and cost. XRP has been a top 5 cryptocurrency consistenty by market capitalisation, this is due to the significant real-world applications that they offer through their RippleNet, xCurrent and xRapid systems. Ripple Labs have also been careful not to flood the market with XRP, which would certainly cause the price to plummet.

The Ripple for Good and RippleWorks projects are also contributing to bringing organizations and initiatives with the possibility of advancing socially responsible uses of blockchain technology and cryptocurrency. They do this hoping to promote innovation and education within various communities around the world such as public schools and universities.

Ripple (XRP) Resources

Ripple Website: https://www.ripple.com/

Ripple Block Explorer: https://bithomp.com/explorer/

Ripple GitHub: https://github.com/ripple

Ripple Whitepaper:https://ripple.com/files/ripple_consensus_whitepaper.pdf

Social Media

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Ripple
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/XRPRippleCoin/
Telegram: https://t.me/Ripple
Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/Ripple/