What Is XRP?
Also known as: Ripple, XRP Ledger, XRPL
In short
XRP is the native cryptocurrency of the XRP Ledger (XRPL), an open-source blockchain designed for fast, low-cost international payments. It runs on its own consensus protocol instead of mining and is often mentioned alongside the company Ripple.
The XRP Ledger went live in 2012, and the entire 100 billion units of XRP's total supply were created at the outset; no new XRP is produced. A significant portion of the supply was given to the company founded by the network's developers, known today as Ripple. Ripple holds most of this share in time-locked escrow accounts and releases it periodically. Although Ripple and XRP are often used interchangeably, Ripple is a company, while XRP is the cryptocurrency of an open network.
On the network, transactions are finalized within a few seconds through a consensus protocol based on the list of validators (UNL) each node trusts, rather than mining or staking. Transaction fees are very low, and the fees paid are burned and removed from circulation. XRPL has a decentralized exchange built in at the protocol level and supports token issuance. Ripple positions XRP as a bridge currency in cross-border transfers.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Ripple in 2020, arguing that XRP sales were an unregistered securities offering. In the 2023 court ruling, it was held that Ripple's programmatic sales through exchanges were not investment contracts, while direct sales to institutional investors fell within that scope. Critics question the network's level of decentralization because of the structure of the validator list.
Last updated: · This content is for information purposes only and is not investment advice.