XRP/USD - XRP US Dollar

XRP is a real-time, gross settlement system, currency exchange and remittance network. Also called the XRP Transaction Protocol or XRP protocol, i’ts built on a distributed open source Internet protocol, consensus ledger and native currency called XRP. Released in 2012, XRP purports to enable secure, instant and nearly free global financial transactions of any size with no chargebacks. Discover more about what crypto is and how it works in our Academy.

XRP is the native currency of the XRP network. It only exists within the XRP system. There is a total of 100 billion XRP in existence, with no more allowed to be created according to the protocol's rules.

The company building the XRP protocol, OpenCoin, was co-founded by CEO Chris Larsen and CTO Jed McCaleb. The San Francisco-based blockchain startup is also the majority owner of XRP, holding about 61{{_of_the_digital_currency._ In_May_2017,_to_alleviate_concerns_surrounding_XRP_supply,_XRP_committed_to_placing_55_billion_XRP_(88}} of its XRP holdings) into a cryptographically-secured escrow. The escrow will allow the company to sell up to 1 billion ‘coins’ monthly and return whatever is unused at the end of each month to the back of the escrow queue in the form of an additional month-long contract, essentially starting the process all over.

XRP and Bitcoin each use a different method to reach network consensus. XRP uses an iterative consensus process, while Bitcoin uses Proof-of-Work (mining). As a result, XRP is faster than Bitcoin. It only takes a few seconds to finalize transactions.

The most common way to buy XRP is through cryptocurrency exchanges trading platforms such as GDAX, Poloniex or Bitfinex, or directly from other people via peer-to-peer marketplaces. Purchases can be made in a variety of ways, ranging from hard cash, to credit and debit cards, to wire transfers, even via other cryptocurrencies.

There are a number of factors to consider when choosing which cryptocurrency exchange to start investing and trading with. Some of these include, transaction fees, accessibility, liquidity conditions, reputation, transparency, even in which country the exchange is located. Ultimately, there is no right or wrong exchange to start trading with, but doing your homework first is highly encouraged.