XRP

XRP is a decentralised digital asset and the native token of the XRP Ledger, a Layer 1 blockchain built for high-performance global payments. Its core proposition is a fast, low-cost alternative to traditional banking rails, enabling near-instant cross-border settlements. The token acts as a neutral bridge asset between fiat currencies, helping financial institutions lower liquidity costs and remove the need for pre-funded accounts.

The project traces its origins to 2004 with Ryan Fugger, before being co-founded in its modern form by Jed McCaleb and Chris Larsen. The company now known as Ripple works with major financial institutions to build payment solutions, while the XRP Ledger itself operates as an open-source, decentralised network.

The XRP Ledger uses a federated consensus protocol instead of proof-of-work or proof-of-stake. Validators are selected through a Unique Node List, and transactions achieve deterministic finality once an 80% agreement threshold is reached among trusted participants. This design supports a sustained throughput of 1,500 transactions per second with finality in three to five seconds.

A small amount of XRP is burned with every transaction to protect the network from spam. The ledger also includes a built-in decentralised exchange that allows automated trading of any tokenised asset without intermediaries. Institutions further use XRP as collateral to access traditional markets and manage digital asset infrastructure.

XRP has a maximum supply of 100,000,000,000 tokens, with a total supply of 99,985,635,707 and a circulating supply of 62,533,271,955. The gap between circulating and total supply indicates a significant portion of tokens is not yet in circulation. A deflationary mechanism exists through the burning of a small amount of XRP in every transaction, though the burn rate relative to the total supply is minimal.

Ripple's own XRP holdings remain a central topic in any discussion of the token's supply, since the size of that position determines how much of the gap between circulating and total supply can reach the market.

The project was co-founded by Jed McCaleb and Chris Larsen, building on earlier work by Ryan Fugger dating back to 2004. Ripple, the company most closely associated with XRP, works with major financial institutions to build payment products, while the XRP Ledger itself runs as an open-source network.

Public development of the ledger is visible on GitHub, where the linked repositories carry 4,384 stars, 1,525 forks and 62 pull-request contributors.

XRP's primary differentiator is its focus on institutional cross-border payments with deterministic finality in seconds, a use case it has pursued since before most Layer 1 networks existed. The SEC's approval of spot ETFs in November 2025 gives it a regulatory stamp that few altcoins possess, potentially widening its investor base.

"By serving as a neutral bridge asset between different fiat currencies, it helps financial institutions lower liquidity costs and eliminates the need for pre-funded accounts."

Competitors include other payment-focused networks and stablecoins, which offer similar settlement speed without the volatility of a floating asset. The federated consensus model trades some decentralisation for throughput, a design choice that attracts both enterprise users and criticism from purists.