XRP is the native cryptocurrency of the XRP Ledger (XRPL), a public blockchain that has run since 2012. It was designed for payments. Transactions settle in a few seconds and cost a fraction of a cent. The official documentation at xrpl.org explains what XRP is and how the ledger uses it.
XRP, the XRP Ledger and Ripple
Three names are often mixed up.
- XRP: the digital asset.
- XRP Ledger: the open-source, decentralized blockchain on which XRP exists.
- Ripple: a private company that builds payment and custody products using the XRP Ledger. It is the largest single holder of XRP.
The ledger was created by David Schwartz, Jed McCaleb and Arthur Britto and went live in June 2012. All 100 billion XRP were created at the start. No more can be issued. The founders gave 80 billion XRP to the company that later became Ripple.
In December 2017, Ripple placed 55 billion XRP into escrow contracts on the ledger. These release up to 1 billion XRP per month. Ripple has typically returned a large part of each release to escrow.
How the XRP Ledger Works
The XRP Ledger does not use mining or staking. It uses its own consensus protocol, in which a network of validators agrees on the order and validity of transactions.
Each server keeps a Unique Node List (UNL), the set of validators it trusts not to collude. A new ledger version is confirmed when at least 80 percent of those trusted validators agree on it. This happens every 3 to 5 seconds. Once a ledger is validated, its transactions are final.
Validators are not paid by the protocol. There are no block rewards. Ripple runs some validators, and universities, exchanges and other companies run others.
The design gives fast, cheap settlement with low energy use. The tradeoff is that security rests on the choice of trusted validators, not on computing power or staked capital. Critics see the reliance on recommended validator lists as a point of centralization.
Fees, Burning and Reserves
Every transaction destroys a small amount of XRP as a fee. The minimum is 0.00001 XRP, and it rises when the network is busy. The fee is not paid to anyone. It is burned, so the total supply shrinks very slowly over time. The fee exists to make spam expensive.
Each account must also hold a small XRP reserve to stay active. The reserve cannot be spent in normal use.
What XRP Is Used For
- Payments: sending value between accounts in seconds.
- Bridge currency: converting one currency to another through XRP. Ripple's payment product can use XRP this way, so a payment provider does not need pre-funded accounts in every destination country.
- Decentralized exchange: the ledger has had a built-in exchange with an order book since launch. An automated market maker was added in 2024.
- Tokens: issuers can create stablecoins and other tokens on the ledger. Ripple launched its own dollar stablecoin, RLUSD, in December 2024.
Not every Ripple customer uses XRP. Some of Ripple's products move ordinary currencies or stablecoins without touching it. Demand for Ripple's services and demand for XRP are separate things.
XRP and SWIFT
SWIFT is a messaging network that banks use to send payment instructions. It does not move money itself. Settlement runs through chains of correspondent banks, which can add time and fees, especially on less common currency routes. Many SWIFT payments now arrive within a day.
XRP is often presented as an alternative for those slower routes. It settles in seconds, but using it requires liquid markets between XRP and the currencies at both ends, and it exposes the sender to XRP's price for a short time.
The SEC Case
In December 2020, the US Securities and Exchange Commission sued Ripple, alleging that its sales of XRP were unregistered securities offerings. Several US exchanges delisted XRP after the suit.
In July 2023, a federal judge ruled that Ripple's direct sales to institutional investors violated securities law, but that its programmatic sales on public exchanges did not. In 2024, the court ordered Ripple to pay a civil penalty of about 125 million dollars. Both sides dropped their appeals in 2025, which ended the case.
The ruling applied to the specific sales in that case. It was not a general statement about every XRP transaction, and treatment in other countries follows local law.
Spot XRP exchange-traded products began trading in the United States in 2025.
Risks and Common Mistakes
- Concentration: Ripple holds a large share of the supply, in escrow and in its own wallets, and its sales add to circulating supply.
- Validator model: the trust-based design is debated, and most servers use similar recommended validator lists.
- Adoption risk: banks can use Ripple's software without holding XRP.
- Volatility: XRP has had steep rises and deep, long drawdowns.
- Destination tags: exchanges use a shared XRP address plus a tag for each customer. Leaving the tag out of a deposit is a common way to lose or delay funds.
- Reserve: a new wallet needs the reserve amount before it can do anything, and that amount stays locked.
- Scams: fake XRP giveaways that impersonate Ripple executives are widespread. Ripple does not give away XRP.
Nothing in this article is financial advice.
Key XRP Facts
- Ledger launched: June 2012
- Total supply created: 100 billion XRP, with no further issuance
- Settlement time: 3 to 5 seconds
- Minimum transaction fee: 0.00001 XRP, burned
- Consensus: XRP Ledger Consensus Protocol, no mining
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The XRP price page shows the live price, market cap, circulating supply and chart. The converter turns an XRP amount into dollars or other coins, and the exchange list covers platforms where XRP trades.