What is XRP?

XRP is the coin of the XRP Ledger, a blockchain built for payments. It does not use mining or staking. A set of validators agrees on each batch of transactions, and all 100 billion XRP were created at the start.

Where it came from

The XRP Ledger was built between 2011 and early 2012 by Jed McCaleb, Arthur Britto and David Schwartz, and it launched in June 2012. One early discussion of the idea was titled "Bitcoin without mining".

In September 2012 the founders and Chris Larsen formed the company now called Ripple. The founders gave Ripple 80 billion of the 100 billion XRP. XRP and Ripple are not the same thing: XRP is the coin, and Ripple is a company that holds a large amount of it and builds on the ledger.

How it works

Servers called validators propose and compare sets of transactions until they agree. Each server chooses a list of validators it trusts, called a unique node list.

• Agreement needs a large majority of the trusted validators.
• If too many validators fail or disagree, the network stops making progress. It is designed to halt before it confirms something invalid.
• No puzzle-solving is involved, so it uses little energy.

A new ledger version is agreed every three to five seconds. The XRP Ledger's own site counts more than 150 validators, with more than 35 on the default list, and says Ripple runs one of those.

Supply

There were 100 billion XRP at creation.

• In 2017 Ripple placed 55 billion XRP in escrow, so that it enters circulation gradually.
• Ripple has regularly sold XRP.
• Every transaction destroys a small amount of XRP as its fee. The fee is paid to nobody, and it rises when the network is busy.

What people use it for

XRP is used to pay the ledger's transaction fees and to move value quickly and cheaply. People also hold and trade it like other coins.

Risks to know

• One company holds a large share. Ripple's sales add to the supply in circulation.
• Trusted lists. The network relies on lists of trusted validators, which has raised concerns about centralisation.
• A long legal fight in the United States. The Securities and Exchange Commission sued Ripple in December 2020. In July 2023 a judge ruled that XRP itself is not a security, although the way it is sold could be. The final judgment fined Ripple about $125 million, and in August 2025 both sides dropped their appeals, which ended the case.
• Price swings, as with every coin.

Learn more

Lesson 4 explains mining, the method the XRP Ledger set out to avoid. Lesson 11 gives questions to ask of any coin, and Lesson 19 turns them into a research method.