Ripple is a prominent crypto-asset and currently the third largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. Developed by Ripple Labs, its intended purpose is to provide a gross settlement system which can be used to enable cross-border currency or asset transfers and provide liquidity for financial institutions, banks, payment providers, exchanges etc., using the blockchain technology. Ripple’s defined aim in its own documentation is to provide a system which enables “secure, instantly and nearly free global financial transactions of any size with no charge-backs.”
Ripple’s native token (XRP) has a huge supply of around 100 billion tokens, the supply though reduces at a snail’s pace, by virtue of the tinny fees collected for transactions, which is then removed from overall supply. However, XRP can’t be classified as a deflationary token.
Ripple Token (XRP) according to the company’s claim, wasn’t created by it, but gifted or handed over from a previous open source project. Unsurprisingly, the majority of the XRP supply is held by the founders, team members and the company itself.
Bottom Line
Ripple’s native XRP tokens aren’t equity shares, which means buying the tokens doesn’t give the holder, any stake in the company’s profits. Add to it, the fact that XRP tokens have no significant uses in the Ripple Technology, which can be used without acquiring these tokens and it all results in an asset, that is purely speculative and whose price is heavily manipulated by the Ripple Team, who are the majority holders.
How to buy XRP easily on Coinbase
- Create an account
- Verify your identity: To prevent identity theft or fraud, you’ll need a photo ID to make sure it’s really you.
- Buy XRP: Get started with as little as $25, and you can pay with a debit card or bank account.