In today’s era where cryptocurrencies have become mainstream, various altcoins have made their way into the market making it hard for traders to choose which one to invest in.
Each of these coins may either provide the same uses or offer a unique feature that differs it from anything else. One coin, however, that’s worth your money and attention are Ripple because of its scalability, fast transactions and more.
If you’re curious to learn more about this altcoin, here’s everything you need to know:
What is Ripple (XRP)?
For starters, the first thing that you need to know is the difference between Ripple and XRP. Several people make the mistake of thinking that these two are the same thing but in fact, Ripple is the blockchain while XRP is its native coin.
XRP is a digital asset specifically designed for payments and uses a decentralised blockchain called XRP ledger which is capable of processing transactions in under 3 to 5 seconds.
Moreover, it acts as a bridge token between two different currencies, which is a huge reason why it can make transactions efficiently.
In essence, Ripple is a money transferring network that allows convenient, fast and safe cross-border transactions. Think of it as any other money transfer service with the differences being waiting times transactions fees are near obsolete.
A brief history of Ripple
Ripple was founded in 2012 by developers Jed McCaleb and Chris Larsen with the hopes to eliminate red tape and expensive fees in cross-border transactions. The framework used for this idea was the prototype invented by Ryan Fugger in 2004.
Fuger was trying to create a decentralised real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system which would later become the blueprints of McCaleb and Larsen for Ripple.
In 2016, Larsen stepped down from the position of CEO and the spot was then filled by Brad Garlinghouse. He already had experience with this position during his time in Hightail, a file collaboration service.
Until today, Ripple is led by some of the most expert individuals in the field of cryptocurrency. Aside from Garlinghouse, some of the brilliant minds behind Ripple today include:
David Schwartz – Chief Technology Officer
David Schwartz played a huge part in building the XRP Ledger as he’s one of its original architects. However, before he joined Ripple, he already had experience as a Chief Technical Officer in a software development company called, Santa Clara.
Some of the most impressive technologies that Schwartz has developed include encrypted cloud storage and messaging systems. He developed these technologies for big-name companies such as CNN and NSA.
Kristina Campbell – Chief Financial Officer
Taking the helm of Chief Financial Officer is Kristiina Campbell who has over 20 years of experience in her resume for finance operations and business strategy. Throughout these 20 years, her main focus was on fintech and payments.
Monica Long – General Manager
The current acting General Manager of Ripple is Monica Long is providing the team with infrastructure, tools and programs to maintain the XRP ledger. Moreover, before her time as General Manager, she was the SVP of Marketing.
This set of talented individuals provides its users with confidence as they’ll know that the coin that they invested in is in good hands. Moreover, this talented team often releases their plans to their users and clients to build trust and provide transparency.
Ripple Protocol Consensus Algorithm (RPCA)
One of the most important factors that help this cryptocurrency achieve full functionality is the Ripple Protocol Consensus Algorithm or RPA. This uses special technology to validate each transaction made on the network more seamlessly.
Additionally, the RPCA is also responsible for preventing mishaps in the network from happening such as tampering, double spending and more.
Benefits of using Ripple
Ripple attests that they’re a worthy investment not only because of their functional uses but also for their benefits. To help you understand better, here are some of the benefits that give Ripple an edge over other cryptocurrencies in the market:
Fast transactions
Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum and more all take a minute or more to process a single transaction while Ripple has an astonishing payment speed of around 4 seconds. This is possible because Ripple doesn’t require financial service aid from third parties, unlike other cryptocurrencies.
Partnership with trusted and well-known banks
Another benefit that can also be attributed to why Ripple can process fast transactions is that it’s partnered with various trusted and well-known banks across the world. This allows users to transfer and receive assets easier, faster and more secure.
Some of the major banks that Ripple have partnered with include:
- Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
- Zip Remit
- Kotak Mahindra Bank
- Itaú Unibanco
- BeeTech.
Stability
In the extremely volatile market of cryptocurrency, it’s surprising to see how impressive the stability of XRP is. This is thanks to the ecosystem’s use of a unique consensus mechanism, where all participating nodes will vote through a poll to reach an agreement. This ensures the ledger’s safety and lessens the risk of destabilisation.
According to their website, Ripple has an impressive 7-year track record of stable technology and governance which helps ease the mind of potential investors.
Scalability
One of the biggest draws of Ripple is its scalability. XRP is miles ahead of its competitors as it’s able to make a whopping 65,000+ transactions per second (TPS). This is more impressive if you compare it to the top 2 leading cryptocurrencies in the market today, Ethereum and Bitcoin. The former can clock in 15 TPS while the latter can only process 3 to 6 TPS.
Minimal fees
Another benefit that comes with being the main connecting network for banks around the world is minimal fees. This is possible because the assets that you’re trying to trade won’t have to go through different banks that each charge hefty commission fees. With Ripple, you’ll only be deducted 0.00001 XRP from your account with every transaction which is a good deal.
Also, you won’t have to worry about various currency conversions which can burn a hole in your pocket as well.
Should you invest in Ripple?
Ripple proves to be worthy of investors’ time and attention because of its unique features and various benefits that aim to make their trading experience easier, faster and safer. If you’re looking for improvement in scalability more cost-effectively then Ripple might give you the services you’ve been looking for.