XRP was released in 2012 as a native cryptocurrency for RippleNet – a global payment network that scores hundreds of financial institutions. The purpose behind creating XRP was to build “the Internet of value” and enable cheap and more scalable transactions. XRP can be sent directly without needing a central intermediary, making it a convenient instrument in bridging two different currencies quickly and efficiently. Besides, XRP transactions rely on a consensus protocol in order to validate account balances and transactions on the system.
XRP runs on XRP Ledger, maintained by various independent participants of a global “XRP Community”. Every XRP transaction requires an agreement from the independent validator nodes. This agreement is called consensus and serves as the final and irreversible settlement. The ledger reaches a consensus on all transactions every 3 to 5 seconds.
