Ripple differs from its main competitor’s Bitcoin and Litecoin. It was developed by a private, for-profit corporation. When it was created, 100 billion XRP were released into the market. Also, the creators hold 20 billion and Ripple Labs the rest.

Since then, Ripple Labs has placed 55 billion XRP in an escrow account to preserve market stability for users. It’s worth noting that Ripple has been dubbed a “Bitcoin killer” since at least 2014. But, it only recently gained popularity and momentum among cryptocurrency aficionados. 

Ripple: An Introduction (XRP)

Ripple has built a reputation for itself. Several financial institutions and analysts believe the network has a bright future ahead of it. The network is projected to improve global money liquidity. How? By allowing transactions to take place at record speeds and for cheap fees all around the world.

Unlike Bitcoin and other decentralized cryptocurrencies, XRP confirms transactions through a consensus method. A small set of bank-owned servers controls it. With a market valuation of roughly $40 billion as of December 2021, XRP is the eighth-largest cryptocurrency.

How to Buy XRP on a Cryptocurrency Exchange

You can buy Ripple (XRP), like other cryptocurrencies with fiat currency, Bitcoin, or other cryptocurrencies on various online exchanges. The following exchanges provided XRP trading pairs as of November 2021: Binance, Bithumb, Bitstamp, eToro, Coinbase, Huobi, FTX, Bitfinex, Poloniex, and Gemini. The XRP Ledger also has a decentralized exchange built-in, allowing users to trade XRP for other virtual assets.

Legal Constraints

Though most people may acquire XRP with little difficulty everywhere in the world, this is not the case in the United States. Ripple encounters a legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In December 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against Ripple. They are alleging that its sale of XRP was an unregistered securities offering worth over $1.38 billion. As a result, many exchanges, mainly in the United States, have delisted XRP. Many international exchanges have imposed trading constraints on American traders. Besides, others have blacklisted American IP addresses entirely outside of the United States.

Delistings from stock exchanges

Many exchanges have chosen to stop XRP markets until Ripple settles the legal action against it. They prefer to be on the safe side rather than risk potential violations of US securities laws. Upon are some examples of well-known exchanges that delisted XRP following the announcement of the lawsuit:

Binance, Coinbase, Crypto.com, CrossTower, Kraken, Bitwise, eToro, Bitstam, Abra, B2C2, Bittrex, Eobot, Beaxy, OSL, Okcoin, STEX, Ziglu, and Wirex. 

Since around November 2021, it’s unknown when the legal action against XRP will be resolved. Or, what the current courtroom judgments and motions mean. You might not have been able to invest in XRP right now. But the conclusion of this lawsuit has the historic potential to identify not only Ripple Labs, Inc. ‘s and XRP trading’s future, but also the regulatory future of cryptocurrencies.