Things to Know About Ripple

There was a time when cryptocurrencies were at their peak, and investors made a lot of money due to their volatility. Due to their popularity, numerous cryptocurrencies popped up. Some made investors money, while some resulted in heavy losses. Now that the cryptocurrency market has stabilised, only a handful of cryptocurrencies are deemed valuable by investors who believe they have good long-term potential. One such cryptocurrency is Ripple, which has provided investors with steady returns without experiencing high negative volatility.

If you are looking to invest in cryptocurrencies, you can consider Ripple. This blog will help you know the top 8 things about Ripple to let you make an informed investment decision.

• Ripple (XRP) aims to facilitate fast, low-cost cross-border transactions by using blockchain technology.
• Ripple (XRP) has a total supply cap of 100 billion tokens. Ripple Labs, the company behind XRP, holds a significant portion of these tokens.
• Ripple has established partnerships with numerous financial institutions and payment providers worldwide.

Here are the top 8 things to know about cryptocurrency Ripple:

Ripple factual data

(As of September 6)

Ripple (XRP) price chart

As per the live price of Ripple (XRP) in Indian Rupees (INR), 1 XRP is currently valued at around Rs. 45.05 INR. In recent months, XRP has shown significant volatility, with an increase in price over the past month. However, like most cryptocurrencies, it is subject to daily price fluctuations​, and it is important to look at the current trend and market price of Ripple.

Should you invest in Ripple

More than 100 financial institutions worldwide have partnered with Ripple, including banks and financial institutions in Australia, Sweden, China, Singapore, Canada, India, etc, for its payment execution potential. This can help the price steadily grow over time. However, competition is a threat as more payment options are being launched with better technology, which can reduce its market capitalisation.

Risk level

The Indian government has long criticised the investment and use of cryptocurrencies such as Ripple as they are decentralised and not regulated. The lack of regulation can lead to money laundering and tax evasion. Furthermore, as Ripple can not be minded but is circulated by its founders, they can flood the market with more coins at any time to control the price as they want, resulting in a market crash.

Where else to invest

Although cryptocurrencies may potentially provide good returns, it is most probable that the Indian government will undermine its potential. Investors can look towards other investment instruments that are less risky, such as mutual funds. As expert portfolio managers manage them, they come with low risk and can provide good returns over time.

Operations of Ripple

Although Ripple is a cryptocurrency, it is known more as a digital payment protocol. It operates on a peer-to-peer decentralised platform, which is entirely open-source. If two parties want to make a transaction, Ripple creates a link in the trust chain using a medium called Gateway, which serves as the credit intermediary. The financial transitions are recorded and are publicly available on the blockchain but are not linked to the IDS of any individual or entity making the transaction.

Advantages of Ripple

Ripple enables fast and cost-effective international transfers by reducing transaction times to seconds compared to traditional banking systems. Ripple's blockchain is highly scalable, processing up to 1,500 transactions per second, making it suitable for large financial institutions. Furthermore, Ripple uses less energy than other cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, making it more eco-friendly. It also significantly reduces transaction fees.

Ripple history

Ripple (XRP) was founded in 2012 by Chris Larsen and Jed McCaleb under the original name "OpenCoin." Its goal was to create a decentralised payment system to offer instant and low-cost international money transfers. Ripple's blockchain was introduced with the name ‘XRP Ledger’ and was designed to offer fast transaction speeds, scalability, and low energy usage, setting it apart from other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Unlike most cryptocurrencies, XRP was pre-mined, and 100 billion tokens were created at its launch.

Ripple is an advanced technology that works both as a digital payment gateway and as a cryptocurrency. It facilitates cross-border transactions with instant speed and low cost. Only 100 billion tokens are available, of which 20 billion are held by the founders, Chris Larsen and Jed McCaleb. Similar to other cryptocurrencies, Ripple's price also fluctuates based on demand, supply, and other factors, making it important to analyse it extensively before investing.