XRP (XRP) price 1 XRP/USD = $0.3802 -3.95

Ripple is one of the industry’s more unique cryptocurrencies. The cryptocurrency might just be in its infancy, however. The developers behind Ripple have a number of major products and services in development.

Keep reading to discover how Ripple plans to change the world of digital payments in the future.

What Is Ripple?

Ripple has launched a few years ago with an ambitious goal: the developers wanted to enable the “Internet of Value” (IoV) to move money as easily as information is moved today.

Basically, Ripple wanted to be a cryptocurrency built for enterprise and banking use. It wanted to enable fast cross-border payments, low transaction fees, and all of the other benefits of digital currencies. Most importantly, it wanted to do this with the goal of targeting enterprise and banks – two groups that require extended features you won’t find on cryptocurrencies like bitcoin or Ethereum.

Today, Ripple’s global payments network continues to grow. The developers have 90+ customers, 75+ commercial deployments in progress, and a common set of payment standards that govern all transactions across the network.

The developers believe they’ve created the best digital asset for payments. It doesn’t have the same controlled supply and ridiculous volatility of bitcoin, nor does it have the ICO mania surrounding Ethereum.

Ripple Does not Want People To Call XRP ‘Ripple’

Ripple does not want to hear people saying to its coin ‘Ripple,’ and it is working very hard in order to change that in the community. Ripple has been trying to change the notion that is installed in the cryptocurrency market that it is responsible for the XRP currency.

The main intention is to turn its virtual currency into a symbol. And there are some projects and logos around that the community is analyzing as the possible solution for that problem.

The official Github site of the project for the new symbol explains that so as to consider XRP a currency, it will need its own symbol. This is very similar to what other fiat currencies have: $ for dollars, for example. At the moment, the final version of the logo has not been decided, but apparently, it will be different from the current logo of the company and coin.

One of the main reasons for this change is due to the fact that the company wants to ‘desecuritize’ itself. Regulators in the United States may consider some virtual currencies, including Ripple and Ethereum, securities. And the likelihood of XRP being considered one is high.

If this turns out to be in that way (Ripple being considered a security) it would have a strong impact in the price of the virtual currency. With a new logo, it would resemble more as a currency rather than a security – but the effect is not proven yet.

Ripple is one of the most centralized virtual currencies in the market. 81% of the money supply is held by the top 100% accounts, which may be against Ripple’s intention to avoid being deemed as security.

At the same time, the company says and claims that the XRP ledger is an open source and any company would be able to use it for their own purposes. But third-party development in the platform has not been as much as desired and most of the commits made by Ripple have been performed by its staff.

If Ripple wants to solve that problem and disassociate itself from the XRP token, it will have to burn or sell the supply of XRP that the company holds.

Ripple XRP RippleNet xCurrent, xRapid & xVia Product Suite

With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at some of the technologies Ripple has in the works today.

RippleNet

Ripple has always had a global payment transfer system. However, they recently gave a name to it: RippleNet. RippleNet isn’t anything new – it’s just an evolution of the payment platform. The company continues to insist it’s “the world’s only enterprise blockchain solution for global payments.”

xCurrent

xCurrent is the new name of Ripple’s existing enterprise software solution for banks and other financial institutions. It can be used to send and receive cross-border payments. Big deal, right? All cryptocurrencies can do this. However, Ripple has additional features designed for enterprise use, including end-to-end tracking and bidirectional messaging. The developers also recently added a Rulebook with the goal of standardizing all transactions across the network.

Interledger Protocol (ILP)

The Interledger Protocol (ILP) is the backbone of Ripple. ILP makes it possible for payments to instantly be sent across the network. It’s a key scaling solution for Ripple, and the company believes it’s “the only way to scale the global network for future demand.”

xRapid

xRapid hasn’t been added to the Ripple network at this time. However, it’s currently in development. xRapid provides a low-cost liquidity solution for emerging markets with the goal of using XRP to lower liquidity costs of payments in emerging markets. The developers claim product development is “well underway”. More information should be available in Q4 2017 or Q1 2018.

xVia

This is another Ripple product currently in development. xVia allows users to send international payments through a bank or payment provider that’s been connected to RippleNet. xVia offers a standardized interface and a simple API, making it easy for users to send global payments. Those global payments can be attached with information like an invoice or payment status.

Top 6 Crypto Exchanges to Buy Ripple (XRP) in 2019

Ripple is currently the world’s third-biggest cryptocurrency according to by market cap, right after bitcoin. Ripple’s major attractiveness to investors lies in its many solid partnerships with major global banks and financial institutions that believe in its technology.

Ripple’s technology and network helps make international and cross border payments fast and with minimal charges.

So, unlike traditional wire transfers that take 3-5 business days or money transfer services like Western Union and MoneyGram that charge exorbitant fees -10 percent, transactions on the Ripple network are instantly executed, with recipients getting the funds in seconds. Even better, the cost of transactions is always a fraction of the conventional charges.

This is why the cryptocurrency is attracting lots of investors who want a conservative cryptocurrency with steady growth prospects, instead of those high risk and wildly fluctuating tokens that can be quite profitable, but equally capable of huge losses.

If you’re looking to invest in XRP and would like to know the best places to buy Ripple in 2019, this article will point you in the right direction. All the listed brokers and exchange platforms are reputable, tested and trusted. So, buying Ripple from these places are safe.

Binance

The world’s fastest growing cryptocurrency exchange platform, this is one of the best places to buy XRP. The only downside is that unlike the first two we mentioned, Binance doesn’t have a fiat to crypto exchange option. You’ll need to have any of the other tokens, which you’ll then exchange for Ripple.

This is an incredibly secure and safe platform with a lot of liquidity. So, your Ripple tokens are safe on this platform when you buy them here. Even better, if you need to increase your portfolio’s diversity, there are a ton of cryptos traded on the platform.

Every single cryptocurrency is vetted and periodically reviewed once there are red flags. As a result, all the tokens on the platform are vetted and proven as legitimate. Little wonder XRP traders and investors love the platform -23.3 percent of all global XRP trades were executed on the platform in the last one month.

Changelly

One of the foremost and more popular cryptocurrency exchanges, Changelly is a reputable exchange with a very user-friendly interface. All the legitimate tokens are traded on this platform, which makes it the de facto platform for many traders.

Changelly’s unique service proposition lies in the availability of a payment processor that provides a gateway for cash-based transactions. This means you can directly purchase cryptocurrencies with your credit or debit card.

So, if you want to buy Ripple today, all you have to do is sign up, enter your details and use your card to buy XRP directly. This is a more convenient way to trade as it eliminates the extra step of buying bitcoin or ethereum first and then exchanging it with Ripple.

If you’re new to this, Changelly is a great place to start, as you can buy directly with your card, sign up with a bigger exchange, and send the XRP tokens you bought to the exchange.

Coinmama

This is basically a brokerage website where people looking to buy and sell Ripple meet. Sellers list their XRP tokens and buyers can just go there and buy XRP with their credit and debit cards.

The website currently allows residents of over 185 countries buy Ripple and seven other cryptocurrencies from there. The process of buying XRP tokens is pretty simple. Just sign up, verify your information, and go on to buy the crypto once you’re cleared to do so.

Just make sure you already have a wallet set up –we’re assuming you already do. If you don’t, go get one- to receive the tokens as you’ll need to enter that information when you’re buying it. It’s quick, seamless and easy to do.

Kraken

Another solid exchange, this platform boasts of tens of millions of transactions daily. They only trade the most popular crypto tokens including XRP. Buying XRP on this exchange will require the use of bank wire transfers instead of deposits with debit or credit cards.

Also, trading on the platform is restricted to certain countries and regions. This is why it’s not as popular as some of the aforementioned platforms. But if you don’t mind deposits through bank transfers and live in the approved countries, this platform offers top notch security.

Bitfinex

This is one of the exchanges with huge daily trade volumes and allows the purchase of XRP through fiat currency –over $1.2 billion of XRP was traded on the platform in the last month. The exchange also offers a wide variety of crypto tokens for trade.

The only downside is that the platform is better suited to high volume professional traders with a sizable trading capital. So, retail investors are largely discouraged from using the platform.

Coinbase Pro

We saved the best for last if you live in the US. Coinbase Pro, the professional trading platform for Coinbase just recently included XRP in its list of cryptos available for trade and exchange.

Unlike the other platforms where trading is going on at full capacity, trading on Coinbase Pro is still somewhat limited. But, they allow the direct exchange of fiat currencies for XRP.

Since they just added XRP on the 25^th, it might take a bit for things to normalize. People resident in the U.S. (except New York), Canada, UK, Australia, supported EU countries, and Singapore can trade XRP on the platform.