What Is Ripple (XRP)? The Global Payments Network Explained for South Africans
Ripple (XRP) is one of the oldest, most widely recognised and most discussed cryptocurrencies in the world. Unlike Bitcoin or Ethereum, which were built as decentralised peer-to-peer payment systems or programmable smart contract platforms, Ripple was engineered from the ground up to solve a single, highly focused problem: the inefficiency of the global cross-border payments industry. The XRP Ledger (XRPL) allows financial institutions, banks, payment processors and individuals to send money across international borders in seconds at a fraction of the cost of traditional wire transfer systems like SWIFT. In this guide we explain what Ripple is, how the XRP Ledger works, the critical difference between Ripple the company and XRP the token, Ripple’s landmark SEC legal battle and its resolution, XRP tokenomics and escrow mechanics, how XRP compares to competitors, the key risks involved and how South African investors can safely buy and store XRP in 2026.
Quick Answer
Ripple (XRP) is a real-time gross settlement system and cross-border payments network designed to replace slow, expensive international wire transfers. Its native token, XRP, acts as a bridge currency that facilitates instant currency conversions between any two fiat currencies in seconds at near-zero cost. XRP is widely available in South Africa with direct ZAR trading pairs on FSCA-regulated local exchanges like Luno and VALR, as well as on international platforms including Binance, Bybit and Coinbase. Ready to invest? Read our step-by-step How to Buy Ripple (XRP) in South Africa guide.
What Is Ripple (XRP)?
Ripple is both a technology company and a blockchain-based real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system that aims to fundamentally transform how money moves around the world. The Ripple ecosystem consists of two interconnected but legally and technically distinct layers: RippleNet, the global institutional payment network, and the XRP Ledger (XRPL), the underlying open-source, decentralised public blockchain on which XRP transactions are settled.
XRP is the native digital asset of the XRP Ledger. It functions primarily as a bridge currency — a neutral, instantly liquid digital asset that financial institutions and payment processors use to facilitate real-time currency conversions between any two fiat currencies without needing to pre-fund expensive nostro and vostro accounts at correspondent banks in both countries, as the traditional global banking system requires.
To appreciate why this matters, consider how international wire transfers currently work. If a South African business wants to pay a supplier in Japan, their bank must maintain a pre-funded Japanese Yen account at a Japanese correspondent bank. This system — known as the nostro/vostro account model — requires banks worldwide to collectively hold trillions of dollars in idle foreign currency accounts, capital that earns no return and creates massive operational overhead. Ripple’s solution eliminates this requirement entirely by using XRP as a real-time bridge: converting ZAR to XRP, transferring XRP across the ledger in seconds, and converting XRP to JPY — all completed in under five seconds at a cost of less than a fraction of a cent.
Beyond institutional payments, the XRP Ledger also supports a growing ecosystem of decentralised exchange (DEX) functionality, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), tokenised real-world assets (RWAs) and, through a native programmability layer called Hooks, an expanding set of smart contract-like financial applications that make XRPL increasingly versatile as a broader financial infrastructure platform.
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The global cross-border payments market processes approximately $150 trillion per year in transaction volume. Traditional SWIFT wire transfers take one to five business days and cost between 1% and 5% in fees. Ripple’s technology completes the same cross-border settlement in under five seconds at less than $0.001 per transaction — a potentially transformative upgrade to global financial infrastructure. This efficiency advantage is the core long-term investment thesis behind XRP’s consistently top-five market capitalisation ranking globally.
History: Who Created Ripple?
Ripple’s origins stretch back to 2004, predating Bitcoin in concept. The original idea for a decentralised monetary system based on trust lines between individuals was conceived by Ryan Fugger, who launched a prototype called RipplePay in 2005. The project remained niche until 2011, when Jed McCaleb — who later co-founded the competing Stellar (XLM) network — began developing a new digital currency system using a consensus algorithm instead of Bitcoin’s energy-intensive Proof of Work mining model.
McCaleb brought his concept to Ryan Fugger, and together with Chris Larsen they founded OpenCoin Inc. in 2012, which later rebranded to Ripple Labs and eventually simply Ripple. The XRP Ledger went live in June 2012, and all 100 billion XRP tokens were pre-mined at genesis — a fundamental structural difference from Bitcoin, Ethereum and most other major cryptocurrencies where supply is released gradually over time through mining or staking.
Ripple grew rapidly through the 2010s, establishing partnerships with major global banks and financial institutions including Santander, Standard Chartered, American Express and SBI Holdings through its RippleNet payment network. XRP briefly reached an all-time high of approximately $3.84 USD during the January 2018 bull market peak. In December 2020, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a landmark lawsuit against Ripple Labs — one of the most consequential regulatory events in cryptocurrency history — which was ultimately resolved largely in Ripple’s favour by 2025.
Ripple the Company vs XRP the Token
One of the most common points of confusion for newcomers to the XRP ecosystem is the relationship between Ripple (the private technology company) and XRP (the open-source digital asset). These are two separate but closely related entities, and the distinction is critically important for understanding both the technology and the investment.
Ripple Labs (The Company)
Ripple is a privately held fintech company headquartered in San Francisco. It develops blockchain-based payment technology products for financial institutions. Its primary commercial products include:
- RippleNet — A global network of banks and payment providers using Ripple’s messaging and settlement technology for faster, cheaper cross-border payments.
- On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) — Ripple’s flagship product using XRP as a real-time bridge currency to eliminate pre-funded nostro accounts in cross-border payment corridors.
- Ripple Custody — An enterprise-grade digital asset custody solution for institutional clients.
- Ripple CBDC Platform — A technology platform helping central banks develop and deploy Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) built on XRPL infrastructure.
XRP (The Digital Asset)
XRP is the native currency of the XRP Ledger — a decentralised, open-source, public blockchain that exists independently of Ripple Labs. Ripple does not control or own the XRP Ledger; it was built by Ripple’s founders and subsequently released as open-source software. Anyone can participate as a validator node, and no single entity — including Ripple itself — can unilaterally alter the ledger’s rules or block transactions.
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A helpful analogy: Ripple Labs is to XRP what the Ethereum Foundation is to Ethereum (ETH). The Ethereum Foundation was instrumental in creating Ethereum but does not control the Ethereum network or ETH tokens. Similarly, Ripple Labs created and actively promotes the XRP ecosystem but does not control the decentralised XRP Ledger. This distinction became critically important during the SEC lawsuit, as the court ultimately found that secondary market retail sales of XRP did not constitute securities transactions.
How the XRP Ledger Works
The XRP Ledger (XRPL) is a fundamentally different type of blockchain from those used by Bitcoin, Ethereum or Solana. Instead of Proof of Work mining or Proof of Stake validation, the XRPL uses a unique consensus mechanism called the XRP Ledger Consensus Protocol — also known as the Federated Byzantine Agreement (FBA) or the Ripple Protocol Consensus Algorithm (RPCA).
How Consensus Works on XRPL
Each validator node on the network maintains a Unique Node List (UNL) — a list of other validators it trusts to behave honestly. Validators vote on the validity of proposed transaction sets. For a new ledger version to be confirmed, at least 80% of trusted validators must agree on the same transaction set. This supermajority threshold makes the network highly resistant to attacks and double-spend attempts.
Key Technical Advantages of XRPL
- Transaction speed — Final settlement in 3–5 seconds, dramatically faster than Bitcoin (10-minute blocks) or traditional SWIFT (1–5 business days).
- Transaction cost — Each XRP transaction costs a tiny fixed fee of 0.00001 XRP — approximately R0.0001 at most price levels — making XRPL one of the cheapest blockchains to transact on in the world.
- Energy efficiency — No energy-intensive mining means XRPL consumes a negligible fraction of Bitcoin’s electricity, making it one of the most environmentally sustainable major blockchains.
- Built-in DEX — The XRP Ledger has a native decentralised exchange built directly into its protocol, allowing any two assets issued on XRPL to be traded trustlessly without requiring a separate smart contract DEX.
- Throughput — XRPL can process approximately 1,500 transactions per second (TPS) at full capacity, compared to Bitcoin’s 7 TPS and Ethereum’s 15–30 TPS on its base layer.
The Minimum XRP Reserve Requirement
Every XRPL wallet address must hold a minimum base reserve of 10 XRP at all times to remain active on the ledger. This anti-spam mechanism prevents attackers from flooding the network with empty wallet addresses. This 10 XRP reserve cannot be sent to other addresses and is considered permanently locked in the wallet as a structural protocol requirement — factor this into your initial XRP purchase and withdrawal amount.
On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) and RippleNet
Ripple’s primary commercial offering is built around two interconnected systems: RippleNet (the institutional payment messaging and settlement network) and On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) (the XRP-powered real-time bridge currency system that eliminates nostro account requirements).
How a Ripple ODL Payment Works
Source Currency Converted to XRP
A payment provider in South Africa receives ZAR from a customer wanting to send money to a recipient in Mexico. The provider uses a local ZAR/XRP exchange to instantly convert the ZAR value into the required amount of XRP on the source side of the payment corridor. No pre-funded Peso account is needed.
XRP Transferred Across the Ledger
The XRP amount is transferred across the XRP Ledger from the source wallet to the destination wallet in Mexico. This transfer settles with finality in 3–5 seconds and costs less than $0.001 in transaction fees — regardless of the transaction size.
XRP Converted to Destination Currency
On the Mexico side of the corridor, the received XRP is immediately converted to Mexican Pesos (MXN) by a local partner exchange. The MXN is credited to the recipient’s account. The entire end-to-end process takes under 10 seconds with no pre-funded foreign currency accounts required on either side.
ODL eliminates the core inefficiency of traditional cross-border banking: the need to maintain expensive, idle foreign currency nostro accounts at correspondent banks in every country a financial institution serves. As of 2026, Ripple’s ODL product is live across dozens of corridors worldwide, with strong adoption across Asia-Pacific and expanding coverage in Latin America and increasingly in Africa — making XRP directly relevant to South African cross-border payment flows.
Interested in other cross-border payment networks? Read our guide on What Is Stellar (XLM) — Ripple’s closest blockchain-native competitor in the international payments space — to compare their different approaches and target markets.
The SEC Lawsuit and Its Resolution
No discussion of Ripple (XRP) is complete without addressing what became the most consequential regulatory legal battle in the history of cryptocurrency: SEC vs. Ripple Labs.
The Lawsuit — December 2020
On 22 December 2020, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a civil lawsuit against Ripple Labs, CEO Brad Garlinghouse and co-founder Chris Larsen. The SEC alleged that Ripple had raised over $1.3 billion USD through XRP sales that constituted the offer and sale of unregistered securities — a violation of the Securities Act of 1933.
The impact was immediate and severe. XRP’s price dropped over 60% within days. Most major US exchanges — including Coinbase and Kraken — temporarily suspended XRP trading. This created a dramatic divergence between XRP’s availability in the US market versus international markets, where exchanges (including South African platforms) continued trading XRP throughout the entire litigation period without restriction.
The Landmark Ruling — July 2023
After nearly three years of proceedings, US District Judge Analisa Torres delivered a landmark split ruling in July 2023:
- Institutional XRP sales — Securities: Direct sales of XRP to institutional investors through written investment contracts were found to be unregistered securities offerings. Ripple was ultimately fined approximately $125 million in civil penalties.
- Secondary market retail XRP sales — NOT Securities: XRP sold on public exchanges to retail investors did not constitute securities transactions — a major victory for Ripple and a landmark precedent for the entire cryptocurrency industry regarding the regulatory status of digital assets sold on open markets.
Following the ruling, most major US exchanges relisted XRP, and XRP’s price surged significantly. The case was formally settled in early 2025, clearing the regulatory cloud that had hung over XRP since December 2020 and restoring full market access in the United States.
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For South African investors, the SEC lawsuit had zero direct impact on XRP’s availability locally. South African exchanges like VALR and Luno continued offering XRP trading throughout the entire four-year litigation period. South African crypto law is governed by the FSCA and SARS — entirely independently of US regulatory bodies like the SEC. XRP has always been and remains completely legal to buy and hold in South Africa.
XRP Tokenomics and Escrow
XRP has a unique supply structure that differs significantly from most other major cryptocurrencies. Understanding how XRP’s supply is managed is essential for evaluating its long-term economic model and investment potential.
Fixed Total Supply — Pre-Mined at Genesis
XRP has a hard-capped total supply of 100,000,000,000 (100 billion) XRP. All 100 billion XRP were created at the very genesis of the XRP Ledger in 2012. No new XRP can ever be created through mining, staking or any other mechanism — making XRP’s supply model fundamentally different from Bitcoin (where supply is mined over time) and Ethereum (which has an evolving supply with EIP-1559 burning).
Ripple’s Rolling Escrow System
To address concerns about Ripple having the ability to flood the open market with its enormous XRP holdings at any time, Ripple committed in 2017 to locking 55 billion XRP into cryptographically secured on-chain escrow contracts. The escrow system works as follows:
- 55 escrow accounts were created, each holding 1 billion XRP and programmed to release automatically on a monthly schedule — one escrow unlocking per month.
- Each month, Ripple uses a portion of the released 1 billion XRP for business operations, ODL liquidity partnerships and ecosystem development grants, then returns any unused XRP to new escrow contracts at the back of the release queue.
- This rolling system creates a transparent, on-chain verifiable, predictable release schedule that prevents Ripple from ever releasing more than approximately 1 billion XRP per month into the open market.
XRP’s Deflationary Burn Mechanism
Unlike many cryptocurrencies, XRP has a mild deflationary mechanism built into the protocol. Every XRP transaction permanently destroys (burns) a tiny amount of XRP equal to the transaction fee (0.00001 XRP). Across billions of cumulative transactions since 2012, approximately 12–13 billion XRP have been permanently burned — very slowly reducing the total maximum supply over time.
As of 2026, the approximate XRP supply breakdown is:
- ~55–58 billion XRP — In active circulation and tradeable on global markets.
- ~40–45 billion XRP — Held in Ripple’s rolling escrow system or on Ripple’s balance sheet for operational use.
- ~12–13 billion XRP — Permanently burned through transaction fees since genesis.
Ripple (XRP) vs. Stellar (XLM) vs. SWIFT
Ripple’s primary competitors in the cross-border payments space are Stellar (XLM) — its closest blockchain-native rival, co-founded by Ripple’s own Jed McCaleb — and the traditional incumbent system, SWIFT. Here is a detailed technical and commercial comparison:
| Feature | Ripple / XRP | Stellar (XLM) | SWIFT (Traditional) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Settlement Speed | 3–5 Seconds | 3–5 Seconds | 1–5 Business Days |
| Transaction Cost | <$0.001 per transfer | <$0.001 per transfer | $15–$50 per wire transfer |
| Primary Target Market | Banks and Financial Institutions | Individuals and Nonprofits | Banks and Financial Institutions |
| Consensus Mechanism | Federated Byzantine Agreement | Stellar Consensus Protocol (SCP) | Centralised (Bank-operated) |
| Energy Usage | ✓ Very Low (No Mining) | ✓ Very Low (No Mining) | High (Data Centre Infrastructure) |
| Global Institutional Partnerships | ✓ 300+ institutions | Limited (MoneyGram, IBM World Wire) | ✓ 11,000+ institutions |
| On-Demand Liquidity | ✓ Yes (ODL via XRP) | Partial (SDEX) | ✗ No (Nostro/Vostro required) |
| CBDC Platform Support | ✓ Yes (Ripple CBDC Platform) | Limited | Exploring (SWIFT CBDC connector) |
| Native Token Max Supply | 100 Billion XRP (Fixed, Deflationary) | 50 Billion XLM (Fixed) | N/A |
While SWIFT retains an overwhelming institutional network advantage with over 11,000 connected financial institutions, its technology architecture has not been meaningfully modernised in decades. Ripple’s technology offers dramatically superior speed, cost and transparency — and its growing roster of 300+ institutional partners demonstrates it is making measurable inroads into SWIFT’s dominance, particularly in emerging market corridors where correspondent banking is most expensive and slowest.
Comparing cross-border payment and interoperability solutions? Read our guides on What Is Stellar (XLM) and What Is Chainlink (LINK) to understand how different protocols are approaching global financial connectivity and blockchain interoperability.
Risks and Investment Considerations
Before allocating capital to Ripple (XRP), South African investors should conduct a thorough and balanced risk assessment. Here are the key advantages and risks of investing in XRP:
Why Investors Consider XRP
- Clear real-world utility — XRP has a clearly defined, already-deployed commercial use case in the global cross-border payments industry with live institutional adoption across 300+ financial institution partners.
- SEC legal clarity achieved — The landmark 2023 court ruling established that secondary market retail XRP sales are not securities, providing a degree of regulatory clarity that most other altcoins still lack in the US market.
- Fixed and deflationary supply — A hard cap of 100 billion XRP combined with a permanent transaction fee burn mechanism makes XRP structurally capped and very slowly deflationary over time.
- CBDC opportunity — Ripple’s CBDC platform positions XRP to benefit from the global wave of central bank digital currency development, with multiple governments actively piloting XRPL-based CBDC solutions.
- Speed and cost superiority — At 3–5 second finality and sub-cent transaction fees, XRP’s payment performance is among the best of any major cryptocurrency network.
- Growing Africa-relevant corridors — Ripple’s ODL expansion into African payment corridors has direct relevance for South African remittance flows and financial institutions looking to reduce cross-border payment costs.
Risks to Keep in Mind
- Centralisation concerns — Ripple Labs holds a very large percentage of total XRP supply in escrow, giving a single private company disproportionate influence over XRP’s market price and ecosystem direction.
- Banks may not need XRP — Many financial institutions use RippleNet’s messaging infrastructure without using XRP as a bridge currency. If ODL adoption stalls, fundamental demand for XRP as a utility token may not grow as projected.
- Competition from CBDCs — Paradoxically, if interoperable central bank digital currencies become widespread, governments may prefer CBDC-to-CBDC settlement over private digital assets like XRP for cross-border payments.
- Ongoing global regulatory uncertainty — While the US ruling was positive, the global regulatory environment for crypto remains fluid and new legislative changes in the EU, UK or South Africa could create additional compliance requirements.
- Validator centralisation risk — The XRP Ledger’s trusted validator list has historically been dominated by validators closely associated with Ripple Labs, raising ongoing questions about the network’s true degree of decentralisation compared to Bitcoin or Ethereum.
Important Investment Risk Warning
Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile and speculative assets. This guide is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Never invest more capital than you can afford to lose. We recommend building your cryptocurrency portfolio starting with more established assets like Bitcoin or Ethereum before investing in altcoins like Ripple (XRP). Always conduct your own independent research before making any investment decisions. Any profits from XRP trading or disposal are subject to South African tax obligations under SARS guidelines.
How to Buy Ripple (XRP) in South Africa
XRP is one of the most widely listed and most liquid cryptocurrencies in the world, making it very easy to access for South African investors through both local FSCA-regulated exchanges and major international platforms. Here are the best options available in 2026:
Best Exchanges to Buy XRP in South Africa
- VALR — South Africa’s most feature-rich local exchange. VALR is fully FSCA-regulated, supports direct ZAR deposits via EFT and instant payment rails, and offers XRP/ZAR trading pairs with competitive spot fees of 0.1% to 0.2%. Our top recommendation for most South African investors. Read our full VALR review.
- Luno — South Africa’s most popular exchange for beginners. FSCA-regulated, excellent mobile app, direct ZAR deposits and XRP/ZAR pairs. Ideal for first-time crypto buyers. Read our full Luno review.
- AltCoinTrader — A long-established South African exchange with XRP/ZAR pairs and a straightforward buy-and-hold interface. Read our full AltCoinTrader review.
- Binance — World’s largest global exchange by volume. Deepest XRP liquidity, lowest spot fees (0.1%), ZAR deposits via P2P marketplace. Read our full Binance review.
- Bybit — Major international exchange with strong XRP spot and futures markets. Read our full Bybit review.
- Coinbase — Regulated US-based exchange with strong XRP liquidity and beginner-friendly interface. Read our full Coinbase review.
- Kraken — One of the oldest, most security-focused international exchanges with robust XRP markets. Read our full Kraken review.
How to Buy XRP — Step-by-Step
Choose a Regulated Exchange and Register
Select an exchange from the list above. For most South African investors we recommend starting with VALR or Luno for their direct ZAR support, FSCA regulatory protection and local customer service. Complete registration and submit your KYC identity verification — typically a South African ID or passport plus proof of address. KYC on local exchanges usually completes within minutes to a few hours.
Deposit South African Rands (ZAR)
Fund your account via EFT from your South African bank account. ZAR deposits on VALR and Luno typically reflect within minutes to a few hours during banking hours. Buying XRP directly with Rands avoids the need to first purchase an intermediate cryptocurrency and eliminates extra conversion fees.
Place Your XRP Buy Order
Navigate to the XRP/ZAR trading pair. Select a market order (executes immediately at the best current price — recommended for beginners) or a limit order (executes only when XRP hits your target price). Confirm the order and your XRP will appear in your exchange wallet within seconds.
Secure Your XRP in a Self-Custody Wallet
For long-term holdings, withdraw your XRP to a personal self-custody wallet where you control your own private keys. Top wallet options for XRP include the XUMM (Xaman) mobile wallet (specifically designed for XRPL with full native feature support), a Ledger hardware wallet (cold storage security, supports XRP natively) or the Toast Wallet desktop application. Remember: every new XRPL wallet address requires a minimum reserve of 10 XRP to activate — factor this into your withdrawal amount.
Ready to buy? Read our complete step-by-step How to Buy Ripple (XRP) in South Africa guide for a full platform-specific walkthrough. Comparing exchanges first? Check out our detailed Luno vs VALR, VALR vs Binance, Binance vs Bybit and Coinbase vs Luno vs Binance comparisons to find the best platform for your needs.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between Ripple and XRP?
Ripple refers to the private technology company (Ripple Labs Inc.) that develops blockchain-based payment products for financial institutions, including RippleNet and On-Demand Liquidity (ODL). XRP is the native digital asset of the XRP Ledger — an independent, open-source, decentralised public blockchain. XRP exists and operates independently of Ripple Labs. You can buy, sell and use XRP without interacting with Ripple the company at all. This distinction was confirmed as legally significant by the US court ruling in the SEC vs. Ripple case in 2023.
Is XRP legal to buy in South Africa?
Yes, buying, selling and holding XRP is completely legal in South Africa. Local exchanges such as VALR and Luno that list XRP are regulated by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) as licenced financial services providers. The US SEC lawsuit against Ripple Labs had no direct impact on XRP’s legal status in South Africa, as South African crypto law is governed by the FSCA and SARS — entirely independent of US regulatory bodies. Any profits from trading or disposing of XRP are subject to South African tax under SARS guidelines.
How fast are XRP transactions?
XRP transactions on the XRP Ledger reach final, irreversible settlement in approximately 3 to 5 seconds. This is dramatically faster than Bitcoin (10-minute average block time plus additional confirmation requirements), Ethereum (12 seconds per block plus finality time) and traditional international wire transfers via SWIFT (1–5 business days). The XRP Ledger can process approximately 1,500 transactions per second at full capacity.
What is the total supply of XRP?
The total maximum supply of XRP is fixed at 100,000,000,000 (100 billion) XRP. All 100 billion were pre-mined at the genesis of the XRP Ledger in 2012 — no new XRP can ever be created. As of 2026, approximately 55–58 billion XRP are in active circulation, with around 40–45 billion held in Ripple’s rolling escrow system. Additionally, approximately 12–13 billion XRP have been permanently burned through transaction fees since the ledger launched, making the total supply very slowly and permanently deflationary over time.
Can I stake XRP to earn rewards?
The XRP Ledger does not use a traditional Proof of Stake consensus mechanism, so XRP cannot be natively staked on-chain to earn validator rewards in the same way as Cardano (ADA) or Ethereum (ETH). However, some centralised exchanges such as Binance and Coinbase offer XRP “earn” or “savings” programmes where you deposit XRP with the exchange in return for interest payments. These are centralised custodial products — not native on-chain staking — and carry the counterparty risk of the exchange holding your XRP on your behalf.
What happened with the Ripple SEC lawsuit?
In December 2020, the US SEC sued Ripple Labs, alleging XRP was an unregistered security. In July 2023, US District Judge Analisa Torres delivered a landmark split ruling: Ripple’s direct sales of XRP to institutional investors via written investment contracts were found to be unregistered securities offerings (resulting in approximately a $125 million fine), but secondary market retail sales of XRP on public cryptocurrency exchanges were ruled NOT to constitute securities transactions — a major victory for Ripple and a landmark precedent for the entire cryptocurrency industry. The case was formally settled in early 2025, and major US exchanges relisted XRP following the ruling.
What wallet should I use to store XRP?
The best self-custody wallets for storing XRP include the XUMM (Xaman) mobile wallet — specifically designed for the XRP Ledger with full native XRPL feature support including staking and DEX access — a Ledger hardware wallet (supports XRP natively and provides cold storage security), or the Toast Wallet desktop application. Remember that every new XRP Ledger wallet address requires a minimum reserve of 10 XRP to activate and remain functional on the network. This reserve cannot be sent away and remains permanently locked in the wallet as a protocol-level anti-spam measure.