$1.52
XRP is the native cryptocurrency of the XRP Ledger, an open-source blockchain built for fast, low-cost payments. Transactions settle in 3 to 5 seconds for a fraction of a cent, and XRP can act as a bridge between currencies in cross-border payments. Ripple, the company, uses XRP in its payments products but does not own the ledger.
XRP is the native cryptocurrency of the XRP Ledger, a public blockchain built for fast, low-cost payments. It launched in 2012, settles transactions in 3 to 5 seconds, and is used to pay network fees, hold account reserves and move value between currencies. Ripple, the San Francisco company most associated with XRP, uses it in its payments products, but it does not own or run the ledger.
Here are the key facts at a glance.
| Detail |
|---|
| Ticker | XRP |
| Network | XRP Ledger (XRPL) |
| Launched | June 2012 |
| Created by | David Schwartz, Jed McCaleb and Arthur Britto |
| Total supply | 100 billion XRP, all created at launch |
| Smallest unit | 1 drop, or 0.000001 XRP |
| Consensus | XRP Ledger Consensus Protocol, with no mining and no staking |
| Settlement time | 3 to 5 seconds |
| Transaction fee | From 0.00001 XRP, destroyed rather than paid to anyone |
Three names get used as if they meant the same thing, and mixing them up is the most common source of confusion about XRP.
XRP is the digital asset. It's what you buy, hold and send, and what is priced on this page. The XRP Ledger is the open-source blockchain XRP lives on. Anyone can run a server or a validator on it, and developers can build on it without asking permission.
Ripple is a private company, founded in 2012 as OpenCoin and renamed Ripple in 2015. It builds payments and custody products for banks and businesses, holds a large amount of XRP, and employs some of the ledger's original developers. It contributes to the XRP Ledger, but it does not own it, and the ledger would keep running without it.
People often call XRP "Ripple" because the company and the coin grew up together. Buying XRP does not give you a share in Ripple the company.
XRP's original job is bridging currencies in cross-border payments. A business converts dollars to XRP, sends it across the ledger in seconds, and the recipient converts it to pesos or euros on the other side. That removes the need to keep pre-funded accounts in every destination country, which is how money has traditionally moved between banks abroad. Ripple's payments service can use XRP this way.
XRP also keeps the ledger itself running. Every transaction costs a tiny amount of XRP, and that fee is destroyed rather than paid to anyone, which makes spam expensive and slowly reduces the total supply. Every account must also keep a small reserve, currently 1 XRP, that it can't send. The reserve stops the ledger filling up with empty accounts.
Finally, XRP is a trading asset. The XRP Ledger has a built-in decentralized exchange and automated market maker pools where XRP is the most common trading pair. Most XRP volume, though, happens on centralized exchanges, where people buy and sell it like any other crypto asset.
The XRP Ledger doesn't use mining like Bitcoin or staking like Ethereum. It uses its own consensus mechanism, the XRP Ledger Consensus Protocol.
When someone sends XRP, they sign the transaction and submit it to a server on the network. Independent validators, run by universities, exchanges, businesses and individuals, each propose which pending transactions belong in the next version of the ledger. Every validator listens to a list of other validators it trusts, called its Unique Node List, and a few rapid rounds of voting follow until a supermajority agrees on the same set. The ledger then closes with those transactions applied, usually 3 to 5 seconds after submission, and they are final. There is no waiting for extra confirmations.
Because nobody is racing to solve puzzles, the network uses a fraction of the energy of proof of work, and validators earn no block rewards. They run the network because their business depends on it or to support it.
The ledger started as a payments network and has added features over time. Anyone can issue tokens on it, including stablecoins such as Ripple's RLUSD. Its native decentralized exchange has run since 2012, and automated market maker pools arrived in 2024. It also supports NFTs, time-locked escrow and payment channels, and an EVM-compatible sidechain lets Ethereum-style smart contracts connect to the XRP Ledger.
All 100 billion XRP were created when the ledger launched in 2012. No more can ever be created, and the total shrinks slightly over time as transaction fees are destroyed.
Total supply is not the same as circulating supply. A large share of XRP is still locked in escrow on the ledger. The live circulating figure is in the market data on this page.
When the ledger launched, its creators gave 80 billion XRP to the company that became Ripple and kept the rest. In 2017, Ripple locked 55 billion XRP in escrow contracts on the ledger. Up to 1 billion XRP unlock each month. Whatever Ripple doesn't use goes back into a new escrow at the end of the queue.
Ripple uses unlocked XRP to fund its operations, sell to institutions and support its payments business. Ripple and its founders still control a large share of all XRP, which is one of the most common criticisms of the asset.
The Ripple name is older than Bitcoin. In 2004, Ryan Fugger created RipplePay, an early payment network built on trust between friends. In 2011 and 2012, David Schwartz, Jed McCaleb and Arthur Britto built the XRP Ledger as a faster, less energy-hungry alternative to Bitcoin, and it went live in June 2012. Later that year, Chris Larsen and McCaleb founded OpenCoin, which became Ripple Labs in 2013 and Ripple in 2015.
In 2017, Ripple locked 55 billion XRP in escrow to make its supply more predictable. In 2020, the US Securities and Exchange Commission sued Ripple over its XRP sales, and several US exchanges suspended XRP trading while the case ran. Ripple launched RLUSD, a US dollar stablecoin, on the XRP Ledger and Ethereum in 2024. The SEC case ended in 2025, and the first US spot XRP ETFs began trading that November.
This was the question at the centre of SEC v. Ripple, one of the longest-running cases in crypto. The SEC argued that Ripple's XRP sales were an unregistered securities offering.
In July 2023, Judge Analisa Torres ruled that XRP as a token is not in itself a security, and that XRP sold to the public through exchanges was not an investment contract. Ripple's direct sales to institutional buyers were, and in 2024 the court fined Ripple $125 million. In 2025 both sides dropped their appeals, which ended the case.
The ruling applies in the United States and to the facts of that case. Other countries classify crypto assets under their own rules.
XRP and Bitcoin are often compared, but they were built for different jobs.
| Feature | XRP | Bitcoin |
|---|---|---|
| Launched | 2012 | 2009 |
| Supply | 100 billion, all created at launch | 21 million maximum, released through mining |
| How transactions are confirmed |
In short, Bitcoin is designed to be scarce and hard to change, while XRP is designed to move value quickly and cheaply.
The biggest criticism of XRP is how concentrated its supply is. Ripple and its founders still control a large share of all XRP, and monthly escrow releases add to the supply that can reach the market.
Adoption is the second question mark. Banks and payment firms can use Ripple's products without ever touching XRP, and stablecoins now compete for the same bridging role. Regulation is clearer in the US since the SEC case ended, but the rules for crypto assets are still changing in many countries. And like any crypto asset, XRP's price can move sharply in either direction.
To get started, see how to buy XRP for the payment methods available where you live. To hold it, the Bitcoin.com web wallet, Bitcoin.com Accounts, supports XRP and runs in your browser with nothing to download. The Bitcoin.com Wallet app for iOS and Android does not support XRP.
To see what your XRP is worth in dollars, use the XRP to USD converter. When you want to cash out, you can sell XRP too.
XRP is the native asset of the XRP Ledger, a payments-focused blockchain that settles in seconds, costs a fraction of a cent to use, and runs without mining. It is closely tied to Ripple, which holds much of the supply and uses XRP in its cross-border payments products, but the coin, the company and the ledger are three different things.
Whether XRP succeeds in the long run depends less on its technology, which has been live since 2012, and more on whether banks and payment firms keep choosing it over stablecoins and other networks. If you are thinking about buying XRP, weigh that uncertainty, the concentrated supply and the price swings alongside the speed and low cost that make it stand out. The live price, chart and market data on this page are a good place to start.
| Miners compete using proof of work |
| Settlement | 3 to 5 seconds | About 10 minutes per block |
| Fees | Destroyed | Paid to miners |
| Main role | Payments and bridging currencies | Store of value and peer-to-peer money |
