Ripple is both a technology company and the ecosystem around the XRP digital asset. XRP is the native cryptocurrency of the XRP Ledger (XRPL), an open-source blockchain designed for fast, low-cost, energy-efficient global transactions.
The Origins of XRP and Ripple
The XRP Ledger was launched in June 2012 by David Schwartz, Jed McCaleb, and Arthur Britto. Its total supply was capped at 100 billion XRP at genesis, with 80 billion allocated to Ripple Labs and 20 billion to the founders. Ripple placed 55 billion XRP into monthly time-release escrows. In September 2012, along with Chris Larsen, they founded the company now known as Ripple. In 2013, the project was renamed from OpenCoin to Ripple Labs, and in 2016 to simply Ripple.
How Does XRP Work?
Unlike Bitcoin, which uses energy-intensive Proof of Work mining, the XRP Ledger uses a unique Federated Consensus mechanism. Transactions are validated by a network of independent servers called validators, which must reach 80% agreement on transaction order and validity. This process typically settles transactions in 3–5 seconds at a cost of fractions of a cent, compared to Bitcoin's 10-minute confirmation times.
The XRPL supports approximately 1,500 transactions per second, and energy studies show it uses only 0.0079 kWh per transaction – vastly more efficient than proof-of-work networks. Transaction fees are destroyed (burned), gradually reducing the total XRP supply over time.
XRP Use Cases
XRP's primary use cases include: cross-border remittances via RippleNet's On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) corridors; bridge currency for low-liquidity currency pairs on the XRPL's built-in decentralized exchange; DeFi applications including the automated market maker (AMM) module added in 2024; NFTs and asset tokenization; micropayments; and gas fees on the EVM-compatible sidechain launched in 2025.
XRP vs Bitcoin vs Ethereum
Unlike Bitcoin (no max use case beyond store of value, 10-min settlements) and Ethereum (general-purpose smart contracts, variable fees), XRP is purpose-built for payments. It has a fixed supply, no mining, near-instant settlement, and negligible transaction fees. These properties make it uniquely suited for institutional payment corridors and real-time gross settlement systems.
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