Discover all you need to know about XRP Coin, the popular cryptocurrency created by Ripple. Learn its features, uses, and how it compares to other digital assets.
XRP (XRP)
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XRP Ledger: A Comprehensive Guide to the Revolutionary Technology
The XRP Ledger (XRPL) is a decentralized, permissionless, and open-source technology that has been operating reliably since 2012. With its low transaction cost ($0.0002), fast transaction settlement time (3-5 seconds), and scalable infrastructure (1,500 transactions per second), the XRPL has become a popular option for many blockchain enthusiasts. In this article, we will take a deep dive into the XRP Ledger and explore its unique features, founding members, applications, security mechanisms, and current legal battle with the SEC.
Founders of the XRP Ledger
David Schwartz, Jed McCaleb, and Arthur Britto launched the XRP Ledger in 2012, with the aim of providing a faster and more energy-efficient alternative to the Bitcoin blockchain. Along with Chris Larsen, they founded Ripple, the company that built a global payments network, RippleNet, around the digital asset. Today, Ripple is one of the leading companies in the blockchain industry, with partnerships with banks and financial institutions worldwide.
What Makes XRPL Unique?
The XRPL is unique in many ways. Firstly, it supports a variety of applications and use cases related to payments, including micropayments, DeFi, and soon-to-be-launched NFTs. The XRPL also features a decentralized exchange (DEX) and custom tokenization capabilities built into the protocol. Furthermore, the XRPL supports Python, Java, and JavaScript developers with powerful utility and flexibility. Developers can access different tutorials on the XRP website to help them get started using different coding languages, building apps, managing accounts, and more.
Additionally, the XRPL is used by developers to create solutions that solve inefficiencies, including remittance and asset tokenization. Currently, the five main applications of the XRP Ledger are payments, tokenization, DeFi, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), and stablecoins.
Number of XRP Coins in Circulation
The XRP Ledger architects gifted 80 billion XRP to Ripple so that the company could build use cases around the digital asset. According to data from CoinMarketCap, the current circulating supply of XRP is 45.4 billion, with a maximum supply of 100 billion.
Security Mechanisms of the XRP Ledger Network
Unlike Bitcoin or Ethereum, the XRPL uses a unique Federated Consensus mechanism as its method of validating transactions. Transactions are confirmed on the XRPL through a consensus protocol, in which designated independent servers called validators come to an agreement on the order and outcome of XRP transactions. All servers in the network process each transaction according to the same rules, and any transaction that follows the protocol is confirmed right away. All transactions are public and transparent, and anyone can operate a validator. There are currently over 150 validators on the ledger, operated by universities, exchanges, businesses, and individuals around the world.
Through the Federated Consensus mechanism, all verified transactions can be processed without a single point of failure as no single participant makes a decision independently.
Where Can You Buy XRP?
XRP is listed on many centralized finance (CeFi) exchanges globally, including Binance, Huobi, FTX, and Bitstamp. Interested individuals can buy XRP with fiat or other cryptocurrencies.
Ripple and the SEC
Since late 2020, Ripple Labs has been locked in a legal battle with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over whether or not XRP is a security. The SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple Labs and two of its executives on the grounds that they traded $1.3 billion in their XRP token as a security without registering it with the commission. Ripple has strongly countered the claims, arguing that the SEC has been biased in its assessment