Ripple is a money transfer solution that looks to serve the needs of the financial service industry. It provides a platform that earnest cross-border transactions and other financial services most so in the banking sector.
While technological advancement has meant faster and convenient access to information, the financial sector is yet to achieve similar improvements. Money transfer remains cumbersome compared to other things like sharing data on social media. Ripple aims to reduce transaction times and costs by eliminating the middleman. It aims to harness the power of blockchain technology to quicken and smoothen money transfer.
The Ripple network uses the XRP cryptocurrency and runs on the XRP ledger. Both the token and the ledger operate independently of the Ripple company.
What is XRP?
XRP is the underlying cryptocurrency for the Ripple blockchain network and runs on the XRP ledger. It was created by Jed McCaleb, David Schwartz and Arthur Britto. The XRP crypto operates like any other crypto token which you can invest in from a crypto exchange. You can then use it to trade for other cryptocurrencies or transact on the Ripple network.
The major difference between XRP and other cryptocurrencies is transaction verification. While the other cryptos open their network for anyone with computing power to participate in the verification, XRP only allows specific validators. It has a unique node list to verify the transactions. For a transaction to be successful, all the validators must reach an agreement. It takes around 3 to 5 seconds to confirm a new block. This is faster compared to Bitcoin which takes around 10 minutes for every new block.
The difference in verification does not compromise the security of transactions in the XRP ledger. While Ripple decides the nodes to validate transactions, you can still opt to choose your own trusted validators. Also, using the Ripple Wallet facilitates the storage, sending, withdrawing, receiving, and trading of the assets according to the needs of its user.
Pros and cons of Ripple
Ripple comes with various pros and cons which you have to understand when thinking about using the platform.
Pros
- Fast transactions – with a transaction taking around four to five seconds Ripple is quite fast compared to other payment options like bank transfers that can take days to reflect.
- Low transaction fees – it costs around 0.00001XRP for a transaction. These are some of the lowest rates in financial transactions.
- Versatile platform – the Ripple platform is not restricted to the XRP crypto, instead, it supports other cryptos and fiat currencies.
- Acceptance by larger financial institutions – unlike most cryptos, Ripple is not antagonistic to the traditional financial institutions. Instead, various banks are already using it in financial services.
Cons
- Somewhat centralised – cryptocurrencies get their value from decentralisation. However, Ripple is more centralised and gives more power to the centralised financial institutions like banks.
- The SEC issues – Ripple had inroads with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC filed a lawsuit against it which affected the use by various institutions while other crypto exchanges delisted it as supported crypto.
Should you invest in Ripple?
Yes, you should invest in Ripple. The token remains one of the most viable investment options due to its functionality. With a coin trading at $1.1, XRP remains one of the most useful low valued tokens. This allows you to hold larger positions when investing in crypto.
The traditional financial institutions are looking to use the blockchain network for its security and fast transactions, and Ripple provides the best entry point. Therefore, the coin has an assured future. From the current market analysis, the coin is on a bull run and is ideal for both long and short-term holding.
