Author: Alexander Prof. Dr. Zeier

• Ripple ranks among the top five most valuable blockchain-based tokens by market capitalization.
• Ripple is a blockchain-based digital payment network and protocol with its own cryptocurrency, XRP.
• Rather than use blockchain mining, Ripple uses a consensus mechanism, via a group of bank-owned servers, to confirm transactions.
• Ripple transactions use less energy than bitcoin, are confirmed in seconds, and cost very little, whereas bitcoin transactions use more energy, take longer to confirm, and include higher transaction costs.

Ripple network does not run with a proof-of-work (PoW) system like bitcoin or a proof-of-stake (PoS) system like Nxt. Instead, transactions rely on a consensus protocol in order to validate account balances and transactions on the system. The consensus works to improve the integrity of the system by preventing double-spending.

XRP acts as a bridge currency to other currencies. It does not discriminate between any fiat/cryptocurrency, which makes it easy for any currency to be exchanged for another. Each currency on the ecosystem has its own gateway e.g. CADBluzelle, BTCbitstamp, and USDsnapswap.

If David wanted bitcoins as payment for the services rendered to Lawrence, Lawrence does not necessarily have to be in possession of any bitcoins. He can send the payment to his gateway in Canadian dollars (CAD), and David can receive bitcoins from his gateway. One gateway is not needed to initiate a complete transaction; multiple gateways can be used, forming a chain of trust rippling across the users.

Ripple operates on an flexible open-source and peer-to-peer decentralized platform that allows for a seamless transfer of money in any form, whether it’s dollars, Yen, euros, or cryptocurrencies, like litecoin or bitcoin. Ripple is a global payments network and counts major banks and financial services amongst its customers. XRP is used in its products to facilitate quick conversion between different currencies

Ripple is a disruptive technology that acts as both a cryptocurrency and a digital payment network for financial transactions. It was first released in 2012; it was co-founded by Chris Larsen and Jed McCaleb. Ripple’s main process is a payment settlement asset exchange and remittance system, similar to the SWIFT system for international money and security transfers, which is used by banks and financial middlemen dealing across currencies.

The token used for the cryptocurrency is premined and utilizes the ticker symbol XRP. Ripple is the name of the company and the network, and XRP is the cryptocurrency token. The purpose of XRP is to serve as an intermediate mechanism of exchange between two currencies or networks—as a sort of temporary settlement layer denomination.