XRP is a digital currency created in 2012 by Ripple Labs (originally called OpenCoin), designed primarily for fast, low-cost international money transfers and payments.
Key features:
- Created by: Ripple Labs founders (Chris Larsen, Jed McCaleb)
- Not mined like Bitcoin
- Pre-mined supply: 100 billion tokens
- Consensus mechanism: XRP Ledger Consensus Protocol
- Fast transaction speed (3-5 seconds)
- Low transaction costs
Notable developments:
- 2013: Company renamed to Ripple Labs
- 2020: Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuit against Ripple
- 2023: Partial victory in SEC case
- Used by financial institutions for cross-border payments
The token operates on the XRP Ledger, a decentralized blockchain platform, though Ripple Labs maintains significant influence over its development and holds a large portion of the total supply.