The cryptocurrency market is a huge space where creating a project that will reach the top of the market capitalization rankings requires great effort and consistency in action. At the time of writing, Ripple (XRP) is in seventh place among the coins with the highest market cap with around $17.5 billion. These numbers can change quickly. In 2018, XRP’s market cap was nearly $120 billion. Of course, this does not mean that the project has failed. wMany factors can move an asset away from its all-time high, but whether the turbulence is overcome and the coin remains in the market is crucial. It is also important to remember that the cryptocurrency market works both ways – today’s decline can be compensated by future growth.
Meet XRP – a cryptocurrency from Ripple Labs
The entity responsible for the creation of the Ripple system isRipple Labs. It is a private organization that creates cryptographic payment solutions for institutional clients. It was founded in 2012 in San Francisco, California. Until 2015, Ripple Labs was called OpenCoin. The company developed dynamically, gaining the favor of investors and expanding the group of its customers. At the moment, Ripple Labs employs about 500 people, in nine branches around the world.
The history of Ripple dates back to the days before Bitcoin. The first use of the protocol was in 2004. At the beginning, it was a project of a local trade exchange system in Vancouver. Created by Ryan Fuger. The official beginning of Ripple can be talked about since 2012. At that time, Jed McCaleb (programmer, creator of the eDonkey network, Stellar and co-founder of the famous Mt. Gox exchange) together with Chris Larsen (privacy activist and well-known croesus in the crypto world) took over the reins of the then Open Coin and invited investors to buy shares.
What is XRP and how does it work?
It is a currency that is used in transactions between institutions in a safe, intermediary-free way. Transaction fees for operations on Ripple are minimal, which is why the coin often becomes the choice of banks, corporations or exchanges in international transfers.
The total supply of XRP is as much as 100 billion coins, with less than half of the supply currently in circulation. The currency can be purchased on most cryptocurrency exchanges. Ripple Labs releases 1 billion coins per month from supply.
Elements of the Ripple protocol
xCurrent – entities using the Ripple Net system can use this module to settle funds. The entire tool integrates with the API of the institution that uses it. Thanks to xCurrent, you can send messages about the start of the transfer and monitor its further progress. Funds can also be converted by FX Ticker to the target currency. The whole thing is based on the Interledger Protocol (ILP) that allows for the integration of payment systems.
xVIA – is a solution that offers integration of institutional payment systems and the Ripple Net API. All transfers can be monitored and e.g. invoices can be attached.
xRapid – allows you to quickly convert transactions without high costs.
Ripple is characterized by high scalability, transaction confirmation time is on average 4 seconds. 1500 transactions per second can be executed. Although there is no official roadmap, the project is constantly evolving as more and more institutions with a high level of trust are adopting this billing protocol.
Ripple is a forward-looking project that adopts distributed payment systems for financial institutions on a large scale. So far, the solution has been used by institutions such as Santander, UBS, Union Credit or NBAD to execute transactions, and the group of beneficiaries of the protocol is constantly growing. The biggest advantage of Ripple is its utility and its wide international use, which ensures the demand for the cryptocurrency itself. Despite its long time in the market, XRP is doing well. It is worth watching the further fate of XRP – its supply is still being released and the demand is increasing.