If you were to think about which cryptocurrencies have broken through as major assets in the last two years, it would be hard to come up with a more appropriate answer than Ripple.
This cryptocurrency concept — consisting of the RippleNet platform and the XRP token — was built to make money transfers easier and cheaper. And because this idea is believed to have significant potential for all kinds of transactions around the world, Ripple has become an extremely prominent cryptocurrency, despite having relatively little tangible value at present.
( Also Read: A Complete Guide on Bitcoin Halving )
If you feel like you’ve been hearing and reading about Ripple more frequently, but you haven’t looked into the asset too closely look below.
Here Look at Some of the Top Things About Ripple
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Built for Banks
When we wrote about digital currencies to know, we included Ripple and pointed out that it is essentially built for banks. Specifically, it functions such that “banks can more easily settle cross-border payments in real-time for less money and greater transparency.” Ripple also uses less computing power than its counterparts, which makes it all the more appealing for major financial institutions.
This doesn’t mean that Ripple is only for banks. But given that its primary function is facilitating wealth transfer easily and cheaply, its main potential is in revolutionizing how banks handle funds — particularly where international transactions come into play.
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Market Cap is Lucrative
We stated above that Ripple has little tangible value at present, and that’s something we’ll speak to further in our next point. But Ripple’s market cap is lucrative. In fact, it is third-highest among cryptocurrency market caps, at some $12.78 billion.
The market cap, if you’re not familiar with the term as it applies to cryptocurrency, is basically the estimated value of all of the currency in circulation. So, while an individual XRP token does not have much monetary value, Ripple as a whole is responsible for nearly $13 billion in circulating wealth.
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You Can Buy it for Less Than $0.50
To speak more specifically to Ripple’s low practical value — despite its enormous market cap — we’ll note that for now, you can buy an XRP token for less than $0.50. At the exact time of this writing, in fact, it will cost you just $0.2816.
This makes Ripple a fairly easy investment for those who are interested in stocking up on the currency in case it ever takes off. This isn’t necessarily a likely outcome, but it’s worth mentioning.
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You Can Trade it via CFDs
Another option for those who are interested in investing but don’t want to manage their own XRP tokens is to trade CFDs for Ripple. CFDs are contracts drawn up between traders and brokers regarding predicted price swings for the asset at hand.
In this case, that means that if you set up a CFD expecting Ripple to go up, and the price moves from $0.2816 to $0.3, you’ll have been correct, and you’ll earn the appropriate return based on the CFD. It’s basically a speculation method, but one for people who might prefer not to own cryptocurrency.
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Some Think it’s Overvalued
All of the above speaks to how useful, valuable, and accessible Ripple is. However, there are also some who think it’s overvalued. A piece on why XRP is underperforming (by some measures) pointed to a crowded market as the reason behind this thinking.
Basically, while Ripple’s wealth transfer focus is somewhat original and largely unique among top cryptocurrencies, there are now alternatives that perform similar functions. It’s possible that Ripple has too many competitors to become as significant as some hope it will be anytime soon.