What Is XRP and How Does It Work? Ripple, XRP and the XRPL
What XRP is, how it differs from Ripple the company and the XRP Ledger, how a payment settles in seconds, and what XRP is used for, in plain English.
Video coming soon.
Key takeaways
- XRP is the native asset of the XRP Ledger. Ripple is a company. The XRP Ledger is the public network both run on. They are three different things.
- 100 billion XRP were created when the ledger launched in 2012. There is no mining, and xrpl.org notes that burned fees slowly reduce the total.
- Every transaction burns a small amount of XRP as a fee. Nobody collects it, which makes spam expensive.
- Ripple does not own or control the XRP Ledger, according to xrpl.org. It runs one validator on the default list, alongside many others.
- Nobody can freeze XRP on the ledger itself. An exchange can still freeze XRP it holds for you.
XRP is the native digital asset of the XRP Ledger, a public blockchain running since 2012. It pays transaction fees, covers account reserves and can bridge between currencies. XRP is not the same as Ripple, a company, or the XRP Ledger, the network. Mixing the three up leads to myths, such as Ripple freezing your coins.
This guide separates the three, explains how an XRP payment actually settles, and covers what XRP is used for. Every fact comes from the XRP Ledger’s own documentation at xrpl.org or from Ripple’s published materials.
What is XRP?
XRP is the native digital asset of the XRP Ledger, a public blockchain that has run since 2012. It is the only asset on the ledger that has no issuer. Every other asset on the network, such as a stablecoin, is issued by some account and depends on that issuer to be worth anything.
XRP is divisible to six decimal places. The smallest unit is called a drop, and 1 XRP equals 1,000,000 drops. Fees and reserves are often quoted in drops.
What is the difference between Ripple, XRP and the XRP Ledger?
They are a company, an asset and a network.
| What it is | Who runs it | |
|---|---|---|
| Ripple | A US fintech company that builds payment, custody and stablecoin products, including the RLUSD stablecoin | Its management and shareholders |
| XRP | The native digital asset of the XRP Ledger, used for fees, reserves and as a bridge between currencies | No one; it has no issuer |
| XRP Ledger (XRPL) | A decentralized, open-source public blockchain | Independent validators chosen by each server operator |
The xrpl.org FAQ is direct about the relationship: “Ripple does not own or control the XRP Ledger or XRP Ledger network.” Ripple employs engineers who contribute to the open-source server software. As of October 2026, the FAQ says there are 150+ validators, with 35+ on the default list, and Ripple runs only one of them. Its rights as a contributor are the same as anyone else’s, according to the same FAQ.
Ripple does hold a large amount of XRP, which is why the two names get blurred. Owning XRP does not give you a share of Ripple, and Ripple’s business results are not the same thing as the XRP Ledger’s activity.
Where did XRP come from, and how much exists?
Jed McCaleb, Arthur Britto and David Schwartz built the XRP Ledger between 2011 and early 2012, according to xrpl.org’s history page. Here is the short timeline:
- 2012: The ledger launches with 100 billion XRP created at the start. There is no mining, so no new XRP is ever issued.
- September 2012: Schwartz, McCaleb and Britto, joined by Chris Larsen, start the company that became Ripple. It was first called NewCoin and quickly renamed OpenCoin. The founders give 80 billion XRP to the company to fund development.
- 2017: Ripple places 55 billion XRP in escrow on the ledger so new supply reaches the market on a predictable schedule.
Because each transaction destroys a tiny amount of XRP as a fee, the total supply very slowly shrinks over time. For how the escrow works today, see our explainer on the monthly XRP escrow release.
How does an XRP payment work?
An XRP payment is a signed instruction that the network’s validators agree to apply. In order:
- You have an account. An XRP Ledger account is an address, usually starting with “r”, with a balance and a secret key. Whoever holds the secret key controls the account.
- You sign a payment. Your wallet creates the transaction and signs it with your key.
- The network shares it. Servers pass the transaction to each other.
- Validators agree. Validators are servers configured to vote on which transactions go into the next version of the ledger. They exchange proposals until they agree.
- The ledger closes. According to xrpl.org, new ledger versions usually close about every 3 to 5 seconds. Once a ledger version is validated, the payment is final. There is no reversal window.
- A small fee is burned. The standard minimum cost is 10 drops, or 0.00001 XRP. It is not paid to anyone; it is destroyed.
There is no mining in this process. According to xrpl.org, consensus can continue as long as fewer than 20% of the validators a server trusts are faulty, and confirming a fraudulent transaction would need more than 80% of them to collude. Our XRP Ledger explainer walks through the ledger mechanics in more detail.
What is XRP used for?
XRP has three main jobs on and around the ledger.
- Anti-spam fees. Every transaction burns a little XRP. The cost rises when the network is busy, which makes flooding it expensive.
- Reserves. An account must hold a small amount of XRP that it can’t spend, as of October 2026, 1 XRP to exist plus 0.2 XRP for each object it owns, such as a trust line. Our piece on trust lines and the 0.2 XRP reserve covers this.
- A bridge between currencies. On the ledger’s built-in exchange, a trade between two tokens can route through XRP when that gives a better rate. Ripple also says XRP serves as a bridge asset in its cross-border payment product, especially in currency corridors with less liquidity.
Ripple’s dollar stablecoin, RLUSD, is a separate asset. Ripple describes RLUSD as being for dollar-denominated transactions and XRP for cross-currency settlement.
Can anyone freeze or control your XRP?
No one can freeze XRP on the XRP Ledger itself. The xrpl.org documentation says plainly: “No one can freeze XRP in the XRP Ledger.” Issued tokens such as stablecoins are different: their issuers can enable freezes. See why XRP can’t be frozen but stablecoins can.
That protection only applies to XRP in an account you control. XRP held on an exchange sits in the exchange’s accounts, and the exchange can freeze your balance under its own policies.
What to understand before you hold XRP
A short checklist for a new holder:
- Know which name you mean. News about Ripple the company is not automatically news about the XRP Ledger, and the reverse.
- Know where your XRP lives. On an exchange, you have a balance the exchange owes you. In a self-custody wallet, you have an account on the ledger and the keys to it.
- Keep 1 XRP aside. A self-custody account needs the reserve to exist, and you can’t spend it while the account stays open.
- Protect the secret key or recovery phrase. Anyone who has it controls the account. Never type it into a website or share it with “support”.
- Use a destination tag when sending to an exchange. Most exchanges need one. Our destination tag guide explains why.
- Send a small test first. XRP Ledger payments are final in seconds and can’t be reversed.
What to check next
If you want to go a level deeper, the useful next question is who the validators are and how the ledger changes its own rules through amendments. Both are documented publicly at xrpl.org, so any claim about XRP, Ripple or the ledger can be checked against the source rather than taken on trust.
Sources
Sources
- What is XRP and Why Is It Valuable?, XRP Ledger Foundation (xrpl.org)
- XRP Ledger: FAQ, XRP Ledger Foundation (xrpl.org)
- XRP Ledger: History, XRP Ledger Foundation (xrpl.org)
- Consensus Protocol, XRP Ledger Foundation (xrpl.org)
- Ledger Close Times, XRP Ledger Foundation (xrpl.org)
Frequently asked questions
Is XRP the same as Ripple?
No. Ripple is a US company that builds payment and stablecoin products. XRP is the digital asset native to the XRP Ledger, a public network that Ripple does not own or control.
Who created XRP?
According to xrpl.org, Jed McCaleb, Arthur Britto and David Schwartz built the XRP Ledger between 2011 and early 2012. 100 billion XRP were created at launch, and the founders gave 80 billion of them to the company that became Ripple.
Is XRP mined?
No. There is no mining and no block reward. Validators agree on each new version of the ledger through a consensus process that, according to xrpl.org, does not require competitive use of resources.
How long does an XRP transaction take?
A few seconds. According to xrpl.org, validators reach agreement on a new ledger version roughly every 3 to 5 seconds, and once a ledger version is validated, its transactions are final.
Can Ripple create more XRP?
No. All 100 billion XRP were created when the ledger launched, and there is no mining or block reward. According to xrpl.org, the transaction fees that get burned slowly reduce the total.
Education and commentary only, not financial advice. Crypto is volatile and you can lose money. Do your own research and speak to a qualified advisor before making investment decisions. Figures are as of October 24, 2026 and may have changed since.
