XRP is the cryptocurrency used by the Ripple payment network, designed to be one of the fastest, cost-efficient cryptocurrencies globally.
Overview of XRP as Cryptocurrency
As a digital asset, XRP was derived from the Ripple Consensus Ledger. For the past seven years, XRP proved to be built on a very strong platform, with minimum reported issues. Many think that XRP could be the most suitable cryptocurrency for financial institutions and that it is targeting bitcoin with an intention to take its throne. The reason why XRP should go hand in hand with financial institutions is often debatable and goes from its global character, ability to transfer large amounts of assets and accessibility to its extremely fast flow of payments.
Lower Fees, Faster Transactions
Possibly the most distinct feature of XRP is its ability to enable extremely fast money flow. As you may know, most clearing systems use US$ as the basic currency for conversion, which leads to conversion fees. This process usually takes time, and this is the reason why bank transfers take a few days to complete the transaction. Once you get used to converting the amount to cryptos instead of US$, cutting the conversion fees, and finishing the transaction within seconds, you will hardly get back to doing business the old way.
Ledger Technology Limited No. of Tokens
One thing is for sure: Ripple runs on the cutting-edge technology: distributed ledger consensus, which is based upon a network of verification servers and tokens. Apart from much lower transaction costs than in Bitcoin, its platform provides you with an opportunity to exchange not just fiat currencies, but well – almost anything.
Furthermore, XRP is not mined, and it was created with a fixed number of 100B tokens from the very start, the greater part of them belonging to Ripple Labs, and tends to avoid issuing large amounts of tokens. This makes the XRP less decentralized than BTC. In a way, it is controlled, but not by any government. The tokens are being issued and placed to the market in portions.
To recap the features:
- XRP – the digital asset for payments
- Built for enterprise use primarily, XRP offers banks and payment providers a reliable, on-demand option to source liquidity for cross-border payments.
- Distributed on open-source technology, built on ledger technology with increasing number of validators.
- Benefits include fast payment settlement, measured in seconds.
- Energy consumption is minimal.
Editor’s Note: Check out the reasons to use cryptocurrencies for payment in 2019.