Ripple (XRP) is one of the altcoins that many investors have been waiting for. The reason is that the crypto has been dormant for quite a long time, considering that the prices of other coins have spiked in the last few years. XRP managed to break the all-time high price (ATH) on January 7, 2018 at a price of Rp.45,650.
Currently XRP is trading at IDR 9000. XRP saw a drop of around 75.8 percent of its ATH. However, after four years of declining XRP price, Ripple is still among the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap. Therefore, XRP is still able to steal the attention of investors.
But before a new trader or investor buys XRP crypto, it's good to know 7 important things about the cryptocurrency as reported by Fool.com below:
- XRP Designed for Financial Institutions
One thing to consider before buying crypto is to look at the utility of the coin. This is important because the usefulness of the coin is what distinguishes one cryptocurrency from another. XRP is unique in that it is aimed at meeting the needs of financial institutions and payment services.
Banks and financial companies can transfer money without the need to open accounts in other countries or pay high foreign exchange fees. Both parties only need to use XRP which can be sent quickly and efficiently.
- XRP Aims To Boost International Remittances
Ripple has positioned itself as a competitor to SWIFT, the system most financial institutions use for international money transfers. It offers a global payment network called RippleNet to facilitate cross-border transactions.
Financial institutions that use RippleNet have the option to use XRP for their money transfers. However, most Ripple partners avoid using XRP due to its volatile nature.
- Fast and Cheap Transactions
The big advantage of using XRP for cross-border remittances is that it has low transaction fees and fast transfers. Ripple's standard transaction fee is at 0.00001 XRP. That's less than a penny at the current price of XRP. In addition, the average transaction time only lasts about five seconds.
Ripple (XRP) Founder Chris Larsen Urges Bitcoin Miners to Leave the Proof of Work (PoW) Algorithm, Here's Why
XRP CTO David Schwartz mocks the Shiba Inu Crypto Meme, this is what he says
- XRP Has Partnered With More Than 300 Financial Companies
Hundreds of financial companies in more than 40 countries have signed up to use Ripple including American Express, Bank of America, Banco Santander, TransferGo, Xendpay, and many more. On the other hand, SWIFT has collaborated with 11,000 financial partners. This number is higher than Ripple. However, this is understandable because SWIFT has been around since the 1970s while Ripple only emerged in 2012. So far, Ripple's achievements have been quite encouraging.
- SEC sues Ripple
In December 2020, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Ripple in court. Ripple is accused of selling unlisted securities worth $1.3 billion. Ripple vehemently denies XRP's accusations by saying that XRP is not a security.
The SEC vs Ripple case is still ongoing. This is a reminder for investors to first do research on which coin is right for investment. However, if Ripple wins over the SEC lawsuit, the price of XRP is predicted to soar. The reason is, after the case is finished, Ripple plans to go public.
- XRP Price Is Currently Trading Below ATH
A number of cryptocurrencies managed to break previous ATH records in 2021, but XRP is an exception. The highest point occurred in January 2018, when it reached a price of Rp.45,650.
XRP has followed the ups and downs of the crypto market to some extent, and its price hit $1.96 per coin in April this year. It has since dropped to around USD 0.84 (around Rp. 11,494) at the time of this writing. XRP's smaller gain compared to other coins is likely a consequence of the SEC's lawsuit.
- XRP Hasn't Been Sold On Various Exchanges
With the SEC vs XRP case going on, it's not as easy for US residents to buy XRP right now. Another consequence of the SEC's lawsuit against Ripple is that several top crypto exchanges removed XRP from their platforms. Luckily, there are still a few places that US citizens can buy, such as Coinmama, KuCoin, FTX, and Binance.
However, the difficulties experienced by US residents do not occur in Indonesia, because a number of crypto exchanges in Indonesia have traded XRP such as Indodax, TokoCrypto, Pintu, and others.