XRP (XRP) price, marketcap, chart, and info - Crypto.co

XRP is a type of cryptocurrency developed by Ripple to serve as a scalable and less expensive alternative to other payment platforms and digital assets already in operation. XRP runs on the payment platform RippleNet, which exists on top of the distributed database known as XRP Ledger. Ripple operates ReppleNet, but the XRP Ledger is open-source and not built upon a blockchain.

As a payment platform, RippleNet operates in real-time as a gross statement system (RTGS) that enables monetary transactions to occur instantly worldwide. Though the XRP cryptocurrency is typically used on the XRP Ledger, it’s possible to use any valid currency to make transactions on the platform. New transactions are processed through XRP Ledger approximately every three to five seconds or whenever validators agree on the validity of an XRP transaction.

A global XRP community is currently responsible for maintaining RippleNet’s ledger. As a company, Ripple operates as an active member of this community but is not the only party involved. Ripple supplies a large number of validators to keep track of global ledger transactions, but other validators from financial institutions, universities, and several others are also actively involved in this process.

XRP is available for purchase on multiple exchanges, such as Coinbase, Kraken, Binance, and others. XRP is currently ranked as #3 by CoinMarketCap and is outranked only by Bitcoin and Ethereum. It can be stored in either a hot or cold wallet or on a cryptocurrency exchange that will be tasked with keeping track of your assets and protecting them.

Ripple’s concept as a payment platform was created by Ryan Fugger back in 2004. Still, it wasn’t until 2012, when Chris Larson and Jed McCaleb took over the project, that Ripple started undergoing construction. Ripple was initially known as OpenCoin but has since dropped that secondary moniker.