History of Ripple
XRP, previously known as Ripple, was created by the Ripple labs as a system of currency exchange. Ripple is based entirely around a ledger which is shared publicly. It allows people to make payments, remittances and exchanges through a distributed process. The ledger also employs the decentralized cryptocurrency which is known as XRP. Ripple has been adopted by the payment networks and banks as a means of settlement technology. The Ripple system of payment has a number of advantages over several other cryptocurrencies because it is considered both a currency and a platform. As a platform, the Ripple is a protocol which is open source and is designed to allow cheap and fast transactions.
What is the XRP token?
XRP, actually a cryptocurrency, is, however, a token which can be used on the Ripple network to easily facilitate the transfer of money among different currencies. An XRP is used to represent the value of transfer over the Ripple network. The main aim of XRP is to serve as a mediator for other exchanges both fiat and cryptocurrency. Earlier this year, it was declared as the third largest coin by market capitalization.
History of Ripple labs
Jed McCaleb invited a group of leading investors to invest in the Ripple labs in the year 2013. Chris Larsen is the founder of Ripple and he is considered the richest man in cryptocurrency. He is also known for co-founding various startups in the field of financial services online. He started with e-loan which was an online mortgage lender in 1996.
Uses of Ripple
It can be used for currency exchange of low commission. The Ripple can be used as a mediator between the conversions of one currency into another currency. It prevents double commission and is a lot cheaper than the USD. It allows for faster transactions around the world. The average transaction time involved is just 4 seconds which is very less as compared to other cryptocurrencies and other banking systems. It creates an ecosystem of payment. The users of Ripple can issue their own currency for cheap and currency transactions.
What is RippleNet?
RippleNet is a network of banks and other financial services which make use of the solutions developed by Ripple in order to provide a smooth system of payment throughout the world. The Ripple platform allows a person to make a payment in any currency which also includes Bitcoin. It has minimal transaction fees.
Role of XRP in the products of Ripple
XRP is the native cryptocurrency of the Ripple’s platform and the role of XRP in its ecosystem has become an important determinant of the overall valuation in the cryptocurrency market. The XRP is used by Ripple’s products to achieve quick liquidity. The role of XRP is somewhat similar to the role played by the US dollars in the international market. XRP is quicker than other digital assets. However, the transactions with the XRP have their own set of risks. The most prominent of those risks is that the financial institutions depend on the Ripple to offer liquidity for the transfers. The risk is increased if you consider the risk of trading cryptocurrency in a volatile market.
Difference between Ripple and Bitcoin
With the continuous development in the online payment system and in other fields, some confusion might pop up in the minds of the people. It is important to understand that investing in any cryptocurrency is subject to high rates of speculation and the market is largely unregulated. People should be ready for both earning huge profits and losing their entire investment as well.
Bitcoin is a digital currency which was designed as a means of payment for products and services. Whereas the Ripple is a method for the settlement of payment, remittances and exchanges intended for both payment networks and the banks. The idea behind the Ripple is to offer a system of direct transfer of the assets which can settle in almost real-time. It is a lot cheaper, transparent and a secure alternative to the transfer systems such as the swift system of payment which is used by most of the banks today.
Bitcoin is based on the technology of blockchain while Ripple does not use the blockchain technology. The Ripple uses a consensus ledger which is shared or distributed publicly with the use of a network of XRP.
- Benefits of the Ripple
- The Ripple has directly targeted the banks by helping in an easy and cheap transfer of funds around the world.
- The traffic for XRP has been continuously growing and holding XRP is a type of investment in itself.
- The Ripple can handle more than 10000 transactions every second and a Ripple transaction could be confirmed in just four seconds. It gives it a huge advantage over other cryptocurrencies and particularly over bitcoin which can only handle less than 7 transactions every second.
- The XRP has also grown to gain traction as the Ripple has appealed to various larger banks.
Drawbacks of Ripple
It has solely focused on targeting the banks which can be a drawback for people who are the early adopters of the blockchain technology and it is highly centralized and has very much become a monopoly since the Ripple labs own the coins up to 61 per cent. The Ripple is a cryptocurrency and hence it comes with the same risks as other cryptocurrencies. It is thus advised to invest what you are ready to lose.
What is the future of Ripple?
If there had been any doubt regarding the performance and future of the cryptocurrency, it has been proved completely wrong in the year 2018. It has been a great and promising year for the Ripple (XRP) and it is expected to get even better in the future. It took the place of the cryptocurrency Ethereum on the second position in the rankings of the cryptocurrency. The market of the Ripple has crossed 17 billion dollars. It quickly became the second-largest cryptocurrency in the world and is listed on the top of all the cryptocurrency exchanges.
Short Summary
Ripple
Ripple was created by the ripple labs as a system of currency exchange. Ripple is based entirely around a publicly shared ledger. It allows people to make payments, remittances, and exchanges through a distributed process. The ledger also employs the decentralized cryptocurrency which is known as XRP. Ripple has been adopted by the payment networks and banks as a means of settlement technology. An XRP is used to represent the value of transfer over the ripple network. The main aim of XRP is to serve as a mediator for other exchanges both fiat and cryptocurrency. Earlier this year, it was declared as the third largest coin by market capitalization. It also allows for faster transactions around the world. The average transaction time involved is just 4 seconds which is very less as compared to other cryptocurrencies.
The ripple system of payment has a number of advantages over several other cryptocurrencies because it is considered both a currency and a platform. As a platform, the ripple is a protocol which is open source and is designed to allow cheap and fast transactions. The ripple has directly targeted the banks by helping in the easy and cheap transfer of funds around the world. The ripple can handle more than 10000 transactions every second. It gives it a huge advantage over bitcoin which can only handle less than 7 transactions every second.
It is a drawback for people who are the early adopters of the blockchain technology. It has become a monopoly since the ripple labs own the coins up to 61 percent. The ripple is a cryptocurrency and hence it comes with the same risks as other cryptocurrencies. Like the other cryptocurrencies, the price of Ripple also depends on various factors and never remains constant even for a short period of time.