Ripple
By Geoffrey Lyons
Ripple is the company behind global payments network Ripple Payments, the blockchain XRP Ledger (XRPL), the hugely popular cryptocurrency XRP, and the newly launched stablecoin Ripple USD (RLUSD).
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Cheat sheet
Founded: 2012 (formerly “Opencoin”) CEO: Brad Garlinghouse Hailing from Topeka, Kansas, Garlinghouse joined Ripple as COO in 2015 and was promoted to CEO a year later. Before that, he cut his teeth in top roles at AOL, Yahoo, and Silver Lake Partners. HQ: San Francisco |
3 things to know about Ripple
- Its core mission is to speed up cross-border payments. Businesses and individuals use Ripple to move money in seconds, offering a faster alternative to traditional systems like SWIFT.
- It launched its own stablecoin, a cryptocurrency whose price is pegged to another asset. Ripple USD was issued under a New York Trust Company Charter, which means it has to be fully backed 1:1 by dollar reserves.
- It fought a lengthy, public legal battle with the SEC over claims it sold unregistered securities, ultimately receiving a major win when the SEC officially dropped its case.
Interesting fact
Ripple derives its name from how value can “ripple” through a network of trusted users.
Visualizing Ripple
Think of Ripple Payments as a high-speed railway for banks and businesses.
Slow | Fast Ripple Payments takes seconds and cuts costs by up to 60%. |
Think of XRP Ledger as a global town square for value exchange.
Centralized Western Union dominates the cross-border remittances market and can shut down services with the flip of a switch. | Decentralized XRP Ledger, Ripple’s open-source blockchain, is a decentralized alternative enabling fast and cheap value transfer that no single entity can shut down. |
Think of XRP as a bridge that connects different currencies.
Low liquidity Cross-border payments stall when pairing currencies gets tricky. | High liquidity XRP is designed to connect different currencies. It’s sometimes referred to as a bridge currency. |
Ah-ten-HUT!
XRP saw a massive price surge in 2017 when it briefly became the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap. This fueled a new wave of investors so passionate and loyal to the cryptocurrency that they soon became known as the XRP Army. It’s now one of the most active crypto communities on social media, often engaging in heated debates with Bitcoin and Ethereum supporters.
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