A lot of people today are rushing into buying cryptocurrencies either for keeps or to trade. But with every passing day, more coins are being introduced to the crypto world, so it can be a little difficult picking which coin to invest in for a high return, among the numerous ones available.
Ripple is a cryptocurrency that has been gaining attention lately because of how fairly it compares with Bitcoin. However, many still wonder if Ripple is a real cryptocurrency. This article addresses this and also tells you if it’s worth investing in.
What Is Cryptocurrency?
Cryptocurrencies are digital or virtual currencies. A layperson could call it invisible Internet money. What makes cryptocurrency even more fascinating is that no one controls it. There’s no central authority that can alter or manipulate the way it works. In spite of this, cryptocurrencies remain a concern in many countries.
Some people believe that cryptocurrencies promote illegal activities, disrupt industries (including law and finance), and will completely change how the world approaches wealth in the near future. Still, cryptocurrencies have continued and expanded greatly over time.
The first-ever-created crypto-coin was Bitcoin (BTC), and it’s now the most valuable, most popular, and most expensive cryptocurrency in the world today. The other coins that later came up were either clones of Bitcoin or were created from scratch. Some of these include Litecoin (LTC), Ethereum (ETH), Polkadot (DOT), Stellar (XLM), Ripple (XRP), Tron (TRX), Dogecoin (DOGE), and many more.
One thing, however, that’s peculiar to cryptocurrencies is that they have reasons for being created. This reason is what sustains them over a long period, making them profitable to invest in. Initially, many cryptocurrencies were developed for transactional purposes.
Nowadays, cryptocurrencies are created for non-transactional purposes and for different sectors of the world economy, including technology, finances, food and agriculture, oil and gas, law, or even administration.
Now that you know about cryptocurrencies, it’s time to ask: What is Ripple? Can it be called a real cryptocurrency?
Ripple And XRP In Cryptocurrency
Ripple and XRP are interdependent concepts that have been interchanged for a very long time, though, they’re not entirely the same.
Put simply, XRP is a high rising cryptocurrency rated at the fourth position after BTC, ETH, and BNB (Binance coin). It has a price value of around USD$1.28. There are about 100 billion XRP coins, and San Francisco-based Ripple Labs holds about 55 billion of the total.
Moreover, XRP can be bought from various cryptocurrency exchanges such as Binance, Coinbase, GateHub, Coinmama, and others.
On the other hand, Ripple is a company behind the development of XRP, currently headed by CEO Brad Garlinghouse. Its goal is to allow many people to become independent of financial institutions such as debit or credit cards, the bank, and other financial companies and constitutions.
Although both Ripple and XRP can work together, it’s best to know the difference between the two.
What Is Ripple Used For?
Ripple is focused on solving bottlenecks with cross-border transactions. Its primary protocol, XRPL, is a platform for an international system of payment, exchange, and settlements. The protocol uses XRP to help facilitate financial transactions.
Unlike Bitcoin that is just a currency, or Ethereum, which is used to develop smart contracts, Ripple simplifies and automates payment infrastructure.
Ripple is considered very useful because international payment systems are initially expensive (such as PayPal and SWIFT). This is because the fees that come with it are sometimes unreasonable, and they can also be very slow. This makes Ripple a better solution than regular payment transfer systems.
In recent times, there have been many opinions and questions as to whether or not Ripple (XRP) can be considered a real cryptocurrency for investments.
Is Ripple A Real Crypto-coin?
There are many different types of crypto-coins today, and it’s believed that they all sprung out of the first-ever-created cryptocurrency Bitcoin. A typical coin possesses some features that make it a real cryptocurrency.
In addition, many crypto-coins have followed similar patterns. Some of these include a decentralized blockchain, the ability to be mined, and so on. However, the Ripple (XRP) doesn’t follow most of this pattern, and that is why many people believe that this coin is not a true crypto-coin.
Ripple wasn’t exactly designed to be a coin in the crypto world. It’s seen as a hybrid of both cryptocurrency and the financial services industry. Buying XRP is not the same as owning shares in Ripple, the company behind the project.
XRP also has no mining property or miners of any sort. It cannot be mined like any other cryptocurrency. Mining can slow down the process of transferring coins, and Ripple cannot afford this luxury because it provides a fast international payment system to people and organizations. Therefore, the ability to mine isn’t available for the Ripple coin.
Finally, the founders often do not recommend using XRP as a currency for speculation. Because Ripple seems like a bridge between the two worlds: assets and solution, it should be seen more like a hybrid coin rather than a regular cryptocurrency.
Conclusion
From the above, it’s easy to see why some people question the realness of Ripple as a cryptocurrency. Although Ripple XRP isn’t your usual cryptocurrency, it’s one of the most recognized cryptocurrencies in the world.
Now that you have the answer to the question, “Is Ripple a real cryptocurrency?” you may be curious about whether to invest. As with any investment, investing in XRP should be done wisely and with money, you can afford to lose. It is also a rule of thumb that you do your research before buying or investing.
Lastly, if you’re wondering how to buy XRP, then it is similar to buying other cryptocurrencies. You can either buy it with your credit card or exchange another crypto coin for it on any trading platform like Binance or Coinbase.
