Prior to making a decision to invest in Ripple, let’s differentiate it from other cryptos. Bitcoin, the first and most well-known cryptocurrency, was created in 2009. Ripple is the second oldest popular crypto that was created in 2012 with the goal of improving the speed and efficiency of international payments. Then came Ethereum in 2015.
Ripple uses a distributed ledger called the XRP Ledger, which allows for near-instantaneous settlements. Ripple is one of the largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization and is often used by banks and financial institutions for transactions as well as a way to invest in blockchain technology. Among the companies that have worked with it are American Express, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, HSBC, Barclays, Unicredit and the MoneyGram.
Unlike other digital currencies, such as Bitcoin, Ripple is not mined but is instead created by the Ripple company, which gradually releases coins from their accounts. XRP, the native currency of the Ripple network, has supply limitations, like bitcoin. The threshold is 100 billion XRP and 48% is already in circulation, whereas Bitcoin’s limitations are 21 million coins and 90% of it is already in circulation.
Ripple is built atop the idea of a distributed ledger network which requires various parties to invest in XRP. By investing in Ripple, these various parties help to maintain the health and integrity of the network. In return, they are rewarded with a small amount of XRP. The other two ways to earn money with Ripple are to participate in their scientific research and get paid in Ripple, or simply trade the crypto, XRP.
Ripple investment is a common thing because of their long term presence on the market, intrinsic value and partnerships with Google and Microsoft. So, it has a lot of attributes of a stable coin, which makes investing in Ripple now attractive.
Other advantages of XRP are:
- the lack of inflation, due to the fact that the entire volume of coins is already embedded in the system;
- barter opportunity: Ripple coins can be exchanged for precious metals, stocks or other cryptocurrencies.
However, let’s not get too charmed, because if you want to invest in XRP, you should also consider one big disadvantage. The full control of the system by developers. It is they who decide on the circulation of coins. So kinda the opposite of decentralization we keep talking about. But don’t get discouraged.
Supporters of Ripple argue that its transactional speed and low costs make it ideal for use in a wide range of applications, from cross-border payments to micropayments.
Therefore, XRP remains one of the most promising projects in the blockchain space. So those of you who want to invest in Ripple today, just pay attention to the current volatility on the financial markets and do research.
As for the questions ‘Where can I invest in Ripple?’ and ‘What is the best way to invest in Ripple?’, you can buy it at all crypto exchanges and at very few brokers. But very soon in Gainy, too!
