XRP

XRP is the native digital asset of the XRP Ledger (XRPL), an open-source blockchain launched in June 2012 by David Schwartz, Jed McCaleb and Arthur Britto. The supply was set at 100 billion XRP at genesis, and no additional tokens can be created. The network does not rely on mining.

At inception, 80 billion XRP were transferred to Ripple Labs, with the remaining 20 billion held by the founders. Ripple later placed 55 billion XRP into monthly time-release escrow contracts. According to Ripple’s latest quarterly market report (as of March 2025), the company held approximately 4.56 billion XRP in free wallets and 37.13 billion XRP locked in escrow contracts. These numbers are updated quarterly and may vary slightly over time. Any XRP not used after a monthly release is automatically returned to escrow.

XRP is primarily used as:

• The base currency on the XRPL’s built-in decentralised exchange.
• An intermediate bridge asset connecting low-liquidity token pairs.
• A source of on-demand liquidity for Ripple Payments corridors outside the United States (explained further below).

Ripple’s large XRP holdings do not provide control over ledger governance, as validators are independently chosen by network participants. Ledger rules require super-majority validator approval to change, detailed in the consensus section below.

Like most crypto-assets, XRP experiences price volatility. Ripple’s Q1 2025 market report indicated quarterly realised volatility ranging between 100% and 130%. Potential users and investors should consider volatility alongside utility.