Summary
Benefits of Ripple (XRP).
Future potential.
Disadvantages of XRP.
For anyone not living under a rock, there has been a huge hype regarding the soaring prices of cryptocurrencies. Specifically, the massive jump of Bitcoin from just hundreds of dollars per coin to a whopping $20,000 each at the end of December 2017. This has prompted hundreds of thousands of investors to jump on the crypto-bandwagon, hoping to hitch a ride to riches. As Bitcoin rises in popularity, other forms of cryptocurrencies, alt-coins, are growing in tandem with it. Many optimistic investors hope to identify the next ‘Bitcoin’ and hopefully purchase these alt-coins before the price spikes. Ripple (XRP) is one such alt-coin that has been gaining traction in the world of cryptocurrencies. This article seeks to analyse the benefits of Ripple and its potential in the future.
As of writing this article, XRP has recently just broken two milestones. Firstly, XRP hit new milestones of $1.00, $2.00 and $3.00 per coin within the span of days, from late December 2017 to the start of January 2018. Secondly, XRP overtook Ethereum to become the second largest cryptocurrency. These two achievements have now placed XRP in the limelight as potentially the new ‘Bitcoin’. As much as one can analyse the prices and the market, the short-term market is undoubtedly driven by speculation, and news can easily sway its prices. However, if one looks past the temporary fluctuations of prices, and looks at the benefits of XRP, it might provide a more concrete basis to invest in this cryptocurrency.
Before continuing this article, one needs to clarify the difference between Ripple Protocol and Ripple Token (XRP). The Ripple Protocol is the alternative to replace SWIFT transfers for international transfers that were created by Ripple Labs. XRP, on the other hand, is the cryptocurrency that Ripple Labs created and advocate for everyone to use, especially on its Ripple Protocol system. A key point to note is that Ripple Protocol and XRP are not directly related, and the adoption of the Ripple Protocol does not mean that the price of the Ripple Token would definitely increase. Such an example can be seen where American Express (NYSE:AXP) utilizes the Ripple Protocol but does not accept XRP.
