XRP

How to buy XRP (Ripple)

Buy XRP for rubles using your bank app.

What is XRP (Ripple)?

XRP is the native cryptocurrency of the Ripple platform for international bank payments. Ripple runs on a blockchain that connects banks and other financial institutions, and the XRP token is used to simplify settlements.

What is its advantage over fiat settlements? Each conversion eats into a portion of the funds, and institutions can face a liquidity shortage, which makes it harder to move money between accounts. Ripple converts funds (fiat money and other settlement assets, including other crypto assets) into XRP, instantly transfers them between blockchain addresses, and then converts them back into fiat for the recipients.

You can buy XRP on most crypto exchanges, but staking is not provided — conceptually this coin is an alternative settlement asset.

When were XRP and the Ripple platform created?

The Ripple project launched in 2012. At the time it was seen as an alternative to SWIFT based on an open-source consensus ledger. The project was created by a US-Canadian team of developers; Ripple is currently led by Brad Garlinghouse.

How does the XRP token work?

XRP runs on the decentralized XRP Ledger network. This is a high-performance network that forms new blocks in 3–4 seconds. What sets it apart from a typical blockchain is its distributed ledger architecture, which relies on a system of gateways in different countries supported by dozens of servers. The system's gateways are financial institutions in different countries, which makes the platform a reliable intermediary for settlements.

All XRP coins have already been issued — 100 billion in total — so there is no mining in this network: the coin can only be bought. This is a fundamental difference between XRP and bitcoin.

Transaction fees in the network are fixed at 0.00001 XRP, which is almost free.