The thrilling story of XRP: from payment revolution to historic legal battle
1. The beginning and vision
In 2012, Ripple was founded with an ambitious goal: to change the global payment system. The idea was not just to create a new digital currency but to solve a real problem—the slow and high-cost of international bank transfers using the old SWIFT system.
2. XRP was not mined
Unlike Bitcoin and Ethereum, XRP was not mined. 100 billion XRP tokens were created in advance, and Ripple retained a large portion of them. This raised criticisms about the level of decentralization of the currency.
3. Working with banks
Ripple focused on collaborating with banks rather than fighting them. They created a payment network called RippleNet, where XRP is used as a liquidity bridge to transfer money between countries quickly and efficiently. Many financial institutions have adopted or experimented with their technology.
4. The SEC lawsuit shock (2020)
At the end of 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Ripple, claiming that XRP is an unregistered security and not a currency. The lawsuit caused a major shock in the market, and the price of XRP dropped sharply, with several platforms temporarily delisting it.
5. The strong comeback
Ripple did not give up, and after a years-long legal battle, a U.S. court ruled in 2023 that XRP is not considered a security when sold to the public—this is a major victory for Ripple and the cryptocurrency market. XRP rebounded and was relisted on several platforms.
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Today, XRP remains one of the largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, and Ripple continues to build partnerships with banks and financial institutions around the world.
The lesson? XRP is not just a cryptocurrency—it's a project full of vision, challenges, and victories.