What is XRP?
XRP is a digital asset created by Ripple Labs, a technology company that focuses on streamlining global payments for businesses and solving inefficiencies in the financial sector. Three developers named David Schwartz, Jed McCaleb, and Arthur Brittom started working on the XRP Ledger in 2011. (XRPL). They were inspired by Bitcoin and set out to develop a more effective version that improved upon its limitations. In June 2012, the XRP Ledger first went live. Chris Larsen joined them shortly after, and the trio launched the Business NewCoin in September 2012. It was renamed OpenCoin and eventually named Ripple.
XRPL utilizes the XRP Ledger Consensus Protocol to validate transactions, which defines a set of rules for network participants that prioritize Correctness, Agreement, and Forward Progress. The consensus mechanism is resistant to malicious attacks, including Sybil attacks and 51% attacks, and is designed to withstand inappropriate behaviors and ensure that the network can continue to function, even when validators act dishonestly or the network faces disruptions. XRPL uses trust-based validation to ensure that a large enough percentage of validators agree on a set of transactions, and any invalid transactions would require a coordinated effort by over 80% of trusted validators. However, if more than 20% but less than 80% of trusted validators are found to be faulty, the network would stop making progress.
Despite the potential for inappropriate behavior, the XRP Ledger Consensus Protocol is designed to ensure the integrity of the ledger and the continuity of the network. RippleNet was launched in 2016 as a global network of financial institutions that use Ripple's blockchain technology and modern APIs to send money. The network addresses three key issues with payments: speed and certainty, liquidity management, and transparency.
In 2018, Ripple introduced the On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) feature, which enables customers to bridge two currencies in just three seconds and guarantees highly competitive rates. Businesses can source liquidity within seconds using XRP and access real-time payments, lines of credit, and simplified network building, especially in emerging markets. Ripple invests significant time, effort, and resources into its intellectual property, and XRP is an open-source digital asset independent of Ripple.
XRP is claimed to be ideally suited for global payments because of its low fees, censorship resistance, fast transaction fees, and network scalability. It is also carbon-neutral, leveraging carbon offsets to make XRPL environmentally sustainable. Ripple uses XRP in its solutions because it is fast, efficient, reliable and supports customers' compliance efforts. Ripple is committed to driving mass adoption of Web3 projects globally and is also focused on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and crypto liquidity solutions to bridge the new world of digital assets with the traditional world of fiat. Ripple has also invested in improving liquidity management solutions and integrating advanced Machine Learning capabilities to streamline the payment experience.
In 2021, Ripple expanded its On-Demand Liquidity service to almost 40 payout markets worldwide, covering almost 90% of the FX market, including new regions like Africa, Argentina, Belgium, and Israel. The company also announced the second wave of creators to receive funding for their Web3 non-fungible token projects through the Ripple Creator Fund, a $250 million commitment to help creators explore and mint NFTs and other projects on the XRP Ledger. The Creator Fund projects will leverage the power of XRP Ledger's low-cost, instant settlement, and built-in royalty structures to maximize value for creators and their communities to consume content. New and upgraded customers include Andean Wide, BC Remit, Cascade, Choice International, CrossPay, GCC Remit, GMT, Hai Ha, iSend, Lulumoney by Lulu Financial Holdings, Lyons Express, MoneyTrans, PMI Americas, Remitee, Right Choice Payments, Sir Money Changer, Tier Money, WTM International, and more. RippleX VP of Growth, Markus Infanger, said that Ripple sees real utility in NFTs in the art community and tremendous growth in the entertainment and media industry to cultivate relationships directly with their audiences and offer new content distribution channels.
