XRP is the native coin for Ripple, which was originally designed to replace SWIFT (a traditional money transfer network). Ripple is a blockchain-based payment settlement system and currency exchange network that processes transactions. Unlike other blockchains such as Bitcoin or Ethereum, Ripple is made up of hash trees, which is a method of verifying and storing data. You can think of Ripple as a trusted agent that can quickly confirm that the exchange between two parties was completed successfully.
XRP, originally released in 2012, runs on the XRP Ledger, which is a decentralised blockchain led by a global developer community. As mentioned, Ripple operates slightly differently from other blockchains since it uses consensus based instead of blockchain mining, meaning that once consensus is reached, the transaction is cleared. As a result, Ripple can handle 1 500 transactions per second versus Ethereum processes 15 transactions in the time frame and Bitcoin handles 3-6 transactions per second. Ripple is not only speedy and efficient, it's also secure. Other blockchains have an open ledger and use a verification process where anyone can solve complex equations. In comparison to Ripple, Bitcoin's transactions take a longer time to be validated and have higher transaction fees. The standard fee on Ripple is 0.00001 XRP. This is a minimal fee compared to traditional money transfer methods, such as SWIFT. These are the main reasons why banks and payment processors consider Ripple.
XRP can be purchased on major exchanges, including Banxe. The first step would be to create and top up the wallet and then purchase the token to send, receive, or hold. The wallet would allow you to transfer funds or manage your portfolio. The smallest amount of XRP available for purchase is 0.000001 XRP. XRP experienced a peak in 2018 when it reached its value of $3.38. However, it lost its value in the coming years and became a poor-performing coin. The current market capitalisation is $16,249,450,218.