What is XRP at the protocol level? It is the native asset of the XRP Ledger, a payments-focused blockchain built for fast, low-cost transfers of value between accounts and institutions. The ledger was designed around settlement first, and general-purpose smart contracts came later. XRP is used to move value across the network and to pay its small transaction fees.
Core technology and architecture
The XRP Ledger launched in June 2012 as an open-source, peer-to-peer ledger with no central operator. Its native features include a built-in decentralised exchange, an automated market maker (AMM) introduced under XLS-30, escrow for XRP and fungible tokens, and native token issuance through Multi-Purpose Tokens (XLS-0033). An EVM sidechain runs alongside the mainnet as an independent ledger.
Fast settlement and low fees
XRPL.org states that validators agree on the order and outcome of transactions every three to five seconds. Each transaction destroys the XRP listed in its fee field, and the standard base fee is 10 drops, where one XRP equals one million drops.
Primary use cases
The network is used mainly for cross-border payments, liquidity bridging between currencies, and settlement across exchanges and payment rails. Ripple, the company most closely associated with the ledger, sells payment products built on it. Ripple states that Ripple Payments and Custody serve banks and fintechs including DBS, HSBC and FirstRand Bank across more than 60 payout markets.
Who is behind XRP and where is it based?
XRP was created by David Schwartz, Jed McCaleb and Arthur Britto, and the XRP Ledger launched in 2012. The team is not anonymous. Chris Larsen co-founded the company that became Ripple with McCaleb in 2012, and Brad Garlinghouse is Ripple's CEO. Schwartz is listed as CTO Emeritus at Ripple.
Ripple Labs Inc. is a Delaware corporation headquartered at 600 Battery Street, San Francisco, California. Its ownership is private, and the company has ruled out an IPO. The XRP Ledger's open-source development is governed separately by the XRPL Foundation, which was incorporated in France in late 2024 and describes itself as an independent nonprofit.
Tokenomics
The protocol creates no new XRP, and the 100 billion token maximum supply was created at launch. The market snapshot reports a circulating supply of 63,351,197,653 XRP and a total supply of 99,985,589,443 XRP.
Fee burning has destroyed about 14.4 million XRP, or 0.014% of the original supply, as of 21 October 2026. Ripple placed 55 billion XRP into escrow in 2017 in 55 contracts of 1 billion XRP each, which release on the first day of each month. Unused XRP is returned to new escrow. Ripple's escrow balance had fallen to 31.28 billion XRP by the September 2026 release. Figures for circulating supply differ across trackers because methodologies vary, and no single source is treated here as definitive.
Consensus and network security
XRPL uses the XRP Ledger Consensus Protocol rather than proof-of-work or proof-of-stake. Each node selects a Unique Node List of validators it trusts, and a transaction is validated once 80% of validators agree. Validators run independently, and running one requires no fees or XRP. The main trade-off is that security depends on the independence of the validator set and the trust lists participants choose.
Protocol changes pass through amendments, which require more than 80% validator support for two weeks.
Partnerships and ecosystem
The ecosystem includes several 2026 integrations. BNY is the primary reserve custodian for RLUSD, Ripple's US dollar stablecoin, and now supports XRP and RLUSD custody. Coinbase announced RLUSD support across its platforms on 28 October 2026. In Japan, RLUSD is being launched with SBI Group after JFSA approval. Cross River Bank integrated RLUSD on the XRPL into its core banking platform in October 2026.
Ripple completed the acquisitions of Hidden Road, which now operates as Ripple Prime, and GTreasury, which now operates as Ripple Treasury. On 28 October 2026, Ripple announced final OCC approval for a National Trust Bank charter, which does not permit deposit-taking or commercial lending.
Competitive position
XRP's main advantages are fast settlement, low fees, a native exchange and tokenisation features, and an operating history dating to 2012. Its positioning is as a bridge asset for payments and liquidity rather than a general-purpose smart contract platform.
Development activity and roadmap
xrpld 3.3.0 was released on 6 August 2026 with protocol code for features including confidential transfers and batch transactions. xrpld 3.4.0 followed in September 2026 with LendingProtocolV1_1. A revised Batch amendment was reported as enabled on 11 October 2026. Ripple has also announced a four-phase plan, targeting 2028, to make the XRP Ledger quantum-resistant.
Market position
At the time of capture, XRP traded at $1.25, with a 24h change of -0.40% and a 30d change of -16.21%. It ranked #5 by market cap at $79.33B, with 24h volume of $875.23M. The all-time high is $3.65, and the current price is 65.69% below it.