According to the CoinMarketCap, there are 1615 cryptocurrencies in existence in the world at the moment. And going by the information on the list by CoinMarketCap, the top three coin (read: cryptocurrency), according to overall market capitalization, are Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Ripple (XRP).
We have revealed a couple of things you should know about Bitcoin, its history, valuation, trading and also, gave a couple of mining (production) tips — we so want to make you rich?. Same for Ethereum; read a couple of things about the 2nd biggest crytpo (market cap-wise) here.
Getting ones head around cryptocurrency can be quite hard and tiring, especially if you are a newbie. However, I we would try to break everything there is to know about Ripple to the simplest bits possible. Now let’s talk Ripple, shall we?
What is Ripple?
It’s actually stunning how despite being the 3rd world’s largest cryptocurrency, a fairly large number of individual have not, for once, heard the term “Ripple”, neither do they know what it is. In fact, to some people, the only cryptocurrency there is… is Bitcoin.
You know how Ethereum is a network based on the Blockchain technology while “Ether” is the currency spent on the Ethereum network when developing applications and all sorts of things that can be built on the network? (we explained all that here), it kind of the same thing with Ripple.
In actuality, Ripple doubles as a payment network (called RippleNet) and a cryptocurrency (called Ripple XRP). Both were invented in 2012 by a company called Ripple Labs.
Now, the Ripple Network (RippleNet) allows the transfer of money (fiat currency) and other assets (Ripple Cryptocurrency {XRP}) between banks and several other institutions on the network.
Ripple XRP is the currency used in the Ripple payment protocol/network for all transactions — which are all recorded on the decentralized XRP Ledger.
While many individuals opine that Ripple should be credited for incorporating cryptocurrency into the banking world, a good number of people also believe that by cooperating with banks, Ripple is going against the rationale behind crypto in the first place: “separating financial transactions from the financial organizations of traditional currencies”.
In fact, Ripple is backed by many renowned financial institutions like Santander, RBC, Westpac, UBS, and American Express. These institutions also hold major control in the running of the Ripple network and Cryptocurrency (XRP). This (control) is why some choose and prefer Bitcoin over Ripple.
Trading Ripple: Buy and Sell Ripple?
As of today (May 23, 2018), a single Ripple (XRP) coin sells for USD 0.62.
Unlike Bitcoin and Ethereum that can be obtained through mining (given you have the technical know-how and resources), Ripple cannot be obtained through mining…but can be bought, and sold.
This is because Ripple was launched with all of its 100 billion XRP tokens released all at once; there cannot be more than 100 billion XRP. And from this number, it is believed that the inventors, Ripple Labs, hold around 60 billion XRPs to itself.
Ripple Wallet
To trade XRP, you have got to own a Ripple wallet. And below are some of the top Ripple wallets out there:
Ledger Nano S
Ledger Nano S is a popular hardware wallet for holding Ethereum and Ripple. The safety and security level of this wallet is one of the reasons why it is preferred by a number of cryto traders. It cost about $60 – $80.
CoinPayments
Say you are a merchant, and you would love to be paid or your goods or services in Ripple, CoinPayments enables such.
Asides creating a wallet where you can store your Ripple, CoinPayments will also help facilitate and integrate the acceptance of ripple and payment on your store.
Rippex
Rippex is an offline wallet where you can safely keep your Ripple. It is a desktop wallet which you can download on your PC and gives full control over your coin. It is compatible with almost all OS and you can watch the setup tutorial in the embedded video below.
CEX
CEX doubles as a Ripple wallet and exchange platform where you can trade (buy, sell) your Ripple for fiat currency or other cryptocurrencies.
GateHub
GateHub is a popular platform for trading and storing your XRP coins. However, like any other online exchange (or wallet), it is advised that you thread carefully and not store large amount of XRPs (or any other crypto) in it.
Though you have access to your private keys, there is a probability that they also keep a copy of it and you may lose amount of your crypto in the case of a hack. GateHub, for one, has been a prey in the hands of hackers with a good amount of XRPs carted away.
Toast Wallet
Toast Wallet is a wallet specifically created to store Ripple XRP. According to the developers, the simplicity of Toast Wallet will confuse no beginners (read: Toddlers) but the security – Swiss bank level.
Toast Wallet is available on Mobile (Android and iOS) and PC (Windows, Linux, Mac and Chrome browser). Toast secures your XRP by using a PIN, a passphrase and storing your data offline locally.
Like some other XRP wallets, a certain (non-withdrawable) amount has to be left in your wallet – like a reserve. In this case, 20 XRP – a requirement for every active XRP wallet.
In addition, some operational charges (in %) will be charged for transactions.
As mentioned, some of the above wallets are also exchange platforms where you can trade your XRP, the following are also noteworthy mentions:
CoinDirect is also a trusted platform to trade Ripple, particularly in Nigeria. You can check out our detailed guide on buying Ripple in Nigeria here. There are some exchange platform that don’t trade RXP (eg. Coinbase) directly though.
The trick behind this is to buy Ether or Bitcoin first, then trading them directly for XRP. Read more about buying Ripple in this tutorial.
There you have it — some of the basics to understanding and trading Ripple cryptocurrency. Got any questions, suggestions, or recommendations? Drop them in the comments section.
