Category Archive: XRP

(Crypt.la) Currently, there are about 250 different digital currencies competing to be the preferred version.
As it stands, Bitcoin is king of the hill. However, at least one form
is clearing its own path and may actually end up helping Bitcoin and
others.

 Ripple is essentially setting out
to be the next PayPal. The difference is that Ripple will handle
multiple currencies—perhaps even all of them—and make
transactions immediate. There will be no more waiting around for days in
order for a payment to move from one party to another. To facilitate
this process, Ripple invented its own currency, XRP. Unsurprisingly,
many have seen this digital currency as a natural rival to Bitcoin and
other versions. Yet this isn’t necessarily the case. Unlike Bitcoin, XRP
has a stated purpose it’s been designed “to streamline transactions”.
Ripple really doesn’t need it to do much more than that, so it
seems unlikely they have much interest in putting resources behind
making it the number one digital currency in the world. XRP may turn out
to be the best thing that ever happened to Bitcoin. One challenge to
Bitcoin, or any other digital currency for that matter, will always be
the public’s reluctance to adopt it. As the years go by, it may dwindle,
but for the foreseeable future, this remains a hurdle.

Thanks to XRP, though, transactions
can involve Bitcoin without one party ever even knowing about it. For
example, if you wish to buy a book from someone using Bitcoins and they
wish to be compensated with yuan, this would normally be problematic.
You might even stop using Bitcoins because so many people you purchase
from don’t accept them. With Ripple, make the purchase and they’ll
convert your Bitcoin into XRP and then into yuan. You get your book
using Bitcoins and the seller gets the yuan they desire. This highlights
XRP’s ability to extend the reach of any digital currency on the
market. So while it may be viewed as a rival, the truth is that it might
be their greatest ally.