What is XRP?

XRP is the native digital asset of the XRP Ledger — a public network designed for fast, low-cost value transfer. It's often aimed at cross-border payments and settlement, where moving money between currencies and institutions has traditionally been slow and expensive.

One point that's easy to confuse: XRP and Ripple are not the same thing. XRP is the open digital asset on the XRP Ledger, while Ripple is a company that uses XRP in some of its products. They're related, but distinct.

In one sentence
XRP is a digital asset on the XRP Ledger built to move value across borders in seconds with very low fees.

Who built it & why

The XRP Ledger launched in 2012. Its associated founders include Jed McCaleb, Arthur Britto and David Schwartz. The goal was a network that could settle payments quickly and cheaply, without the energy cost of mining — a system tuned for everyday value transfer rather than computational competition.

It's worth repeating clearly: the company Ripple uses XRP, but XRP and Ripple are not the same thing. The XRP Ledger is open-source, and XRP exists independently of any single company.

How XRP works

XRP records transactions on the XRP Ledger, a shared public blockchain maintained by many independent participants. A few ideas keep it fast and predictable:

Consensus instead of mining

XRP does not use proof of work or proof of stake. Instead, the XRP Ledger uses its own consensus protocol: a set of independent validators agree on the order of transactions. Because there's no mining puzzle to solve, the network reaches agreement quickly and uses very little energy.

The fixed, pre-mined supply

A fixed 100 billion XRP were all created at launch — none are mined. A portion of that supply is released and managed over time, but no new XRP can be created beyond the original amount.

Self-custody

You hold XRP using a wallet and a private key. Whoever controls the key controls the asset, so keeping it safe is essential — see our security guide.

What it's used for

  • Cross-border payments: moving value between currencies and regions quickly and cheaply.
  • Fast settlement: transactions settle in seconds with very low fees.
  • A bridge asset: XRP can act as an intermediary when exchanging one value for another.

Strengths & trade-offs

Strengths

  • Very fast settlement — transactions clear in seconds
  • Very low transaction fees
  • Purpose-built for payments and cross-border transfer
  • Energy-efficient — no mining required

Trade-offs

  • More centralized/permissioned validator model than some chains
  • Large pre-mined supply held by relatively few parties
  • Has faced regulatory scrutiny
  • Volatile price

Key takeaways

  • XRP is the native asset of the XRP Ledger, which launched in 2012.
  • XRP and Ripple are not the same thing — Ripple is a company that uses XRP.
  • The ledger uses its own consensus protocol instead of mining, so it's fast and energy-efficient.
  • A fixed 100 billion XRP were created at launch and managed over time — none are mined.
  • It's built for fast, low-cost cross-border payments, but is volatile and has faced regulatory scrutiny.

Frequently asked questions

What is XRP in simple terms?

XRP is the digital asset of the XRP Ledger, a public network designed for fast, low-cost value transfer — especially cross-border payments. Transactions settle in seconds with very low fees.

Are XRP and Ripple the same thing?

No. XRP is a digital asset on the open-source XRP Ledger, while Ripple is a company that uses XRP in some of its products. They're related but not the same thing.

Does XRP use mining like Bitcoin?

No. XRP doesn't use proof of work or proof of stake. The XRP Ledger uses its own consensus protocol where a set of independent validators agree on transaction order, so there's no mining.

How many XRP are there?

A fixed 100 billion XRP were all created at launch in 2012. No new XRP is mined; a portion is released and managed over time.