Ripple Review

Of the many crypto-currencies released after Bitcoin, which was invented in 2009, Ripple stands out as the most different of all of them.

Not only does it not conform to the blockchain ledger system, but it’s also not unregulated and decentralized like the rest of them.

Origin

Ripple was originally released in 2012 as a natural evolution of Ripplepay by the Ripple Company. It also uses a ledger-based system but it differs from blockchain as the network it operates on doesn’t depend on independent users like those who control the nodes of blockchain.

Instead, these users are licensed and known clients of the Ripple Company. The database is public and uses a consensus based process to validate each transaction, but the database is shared on servers that can belong to a bank or an individual. Ripple is represented by the abbreviation XRP, as Bitcoin is represented by BTC.

Purpose

Ripple is also not meant to serve as a currency, but as a system that can allow people to exchange currency over the internet without having to deal with the fees and premiums that come with overseas remittance transfers.

All types of currencies can be exchanged on the network. Unlike the Bitcoin or Ethereum blockchains, Ripple doesn’t require specific currencies for successful money exchange.

The Ripple network allows exchange of gold, fiat currencies and even airline miles. It’s much more flexible than the Bitcoin blockchain.

Function

Ripple is built for enterprises and businesses. It isn’t meant to be used by every single user out there as a wire transfer service. Instead, it is meant for high end businesses.

Ripple can also handle much more transactions per second than other blockchains. Bitcoin can handle around 3-6 transfers per second and Ethereum can go up to 15, while Ripple can validate up to 1,500 transactions per second. With some tweaks and updates, the number has risen to 50,000 per second over the years.

The Future

Ripple is seeking to replace SWIFT, the worldwide network through which funds are transferred around the globe. Although Ripple has successfully signed over 100 banks, it’s still far behind SWIFT which has over 11,000 banks sharing its network.

Inevitably though, Ripple and the blockchain system is faster and much more convenient than SWIFT. Unless radical changes are implemented with SWIFT’s technology, it will ultimately lose out.