Ripple

Ripple refers to a payment network and a cryptocurrency (XRP). This digital currency and the Ripple protocol was founded by Jed McCaleb and Chris Larson. Ripple functions in much the same way as Bitcoin, although it is not considered a competitor to BTC, and is assumed to be a complement.

The cryptocurrency and open payment network that Ripple facilitates is geared towards making Bitcoin transactions more mainstream and stable in the financial world. It is a high-tech distribution network, and is not dependent on a single company or entity to manage its transactions database. Expedited network transactions are a key feature of Ripple technology.

The company that developed Ripple cryptocurrency anticipates as many as 100 billion Ripples will be created. The company will release 50 billion, and store 50 billion in its secure vault. Ripple generates its revenues by levying a fee of 1/1000 of 1 cent per transaction.

According to official exchange rates, the market capitalization of Ripple is $9,804,586,426, and there are currently 38,291,387,000,790 XRP digital coins in circulation (July 2017).

Trading Ripple on the Open Market

Ripple is managed by OpenCoin. The company’s founder wants to make it easy, secure, and quick to move money around the world. This digital currency has no interchange fees associated with it, making it the ideal payment option between consumers and merchants.

Ripple runs on a system of decentralized servers, unlike Bitcoin which is prone to denial of service attacks.

Ripple can be traded in much the same way as BTC, against Fiat currencies at recognized trading platforms. As adoption of cryptocurrency’s like Ripple increases, so their values as tradable assets and accepted payment methods will increase too.