Bitcoin vs. Ripple: What's the Difference?
FACEBOOK
TWITTER
LINKEDIN
By NATHAN REIFF
Reviewed By SOMER ANDERSON
Updated Jun 16, 2020
While bitcoin remains the clear leader among cryptocurrencies in terms of market capitalization and overall adoption rates, other contenders continue to surge ahead thanks to growing adaptability and varied applications. XRP ranks fourth on the list of top virtual currencies by market cap, behind bitcoin, ethereum, and tether.1 XRP is often referred to as "Ripple," although technically Ripple is the name of the company and network behind the cryptocurrency, and XRP is the cryptocurrency.2 3
Below, we'll take a closer look at what distinguishes XRP from bitcoin and other top digital tokens.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Ripple is the company that is behind XRP, the cryptocurrency itself.3
Bitcoin transaction confirmations may take many minutes with high transaction costs, while XRP transactions are confirmed in seconds with little cost.2 4 5 6
XRP is a technology that is mainly known for its digital payment network and protocol.
Many major banks use the XRP payment system.7
Bitcoin vs. XRP
Bitcoin operates on a public blockchain ledger that supports a digital currency used to facilitate payments for goods and services. Bitcoin, the network, is primarily known for its bitcoin cryptocurrency (typically referred to as "bitcoin" or by the abbreviation BTC).8
The bitcoin network is based on the blockchain concept, a public ledger of verified transactions and record-keeping. Miners verify transactions on an ongoing basis and add them to the bitcoin blockchain which serves as a ledger of all activity across the network.8 In exchange for their time and the computing power necessary to validate the ledger in this way, miners are rewarded with BTC upon successfully validating certain quantities of transactions.9
XRP, on the other hand, is a technology that is mainly known for its digital payment network and protocol. Aside from the cryptocurrency XRP, Ripple is perhaps even better known as a payment settlement, asset exchange, and remittance system that works more like SWIFT, a service for international money and security transfers that is used by a network of banks and financial intermediaries.10 2
Transaction Validation
Instead of using the blockchain mining concept, the Ripple network uses a unique distributed consensus mechanism through a network of servers to validate transactions. By conducting a poll, the servers or nodes on the network decide by consensus about the validity and authenticity of the transaction. This enables almost instant confirmations without any central authority, which helps to keep XRP decentralized and yet faster and more reliable than many of its competitors.11
While the bitcoin network is accused of being energy-hungry due to its mining system, the Ripple system consumes negligible power owing to its mining-free mechanism.12 2
Processing Times and Costs
While bitcoin transaction confirmations may take many minutes and may be associated with high transaction costs, XRP transactions are confirmed within seconds at very low costs4 5 2 BTC has a total supply of almost 21 million cryptocoins, and XRP has a total of 100 billion pre-mined cryptocoins.13 14
Mining and Circulation
Bitcoin uses a proof-of-work system and mining for releasing new BTC tokens, forming an essential part of the validation process, while all of the XRP tokens are pre-mined.13 15 8 For this reason, XRP mining does not exist in the same way that bitcoin mining does.
The cryptocoin release mechanism is different for both BTC and XRP. While bitcoins are released and added to the network as, and when, the miners find them, a smart contract controls the release of XRP.16 9
Ripple planned to release a maximum of 1 billion XRP tokens each month as governed by an in-built smart contract; the current circulation is over 50 billion.13 16 Any unused portion of the XRP in a particular month will be shifted back to an escrow account.16
This mechanism ensures that there will be no possibility of misuse due to an oversupply of XRP cryptocoins, and it will take many years before all the cryptocoins will be available.
Similar to the bitcoin transaction processing fee, XRP transactions are charged. Each time a transaction is performed on the Ripple network, a small amount of XRP is charged to the user (individual or organization).6 The primary use for XRP is to facilitate the transfer of other assets, though a growing number of merchants also accept it for payments in a way similar to accepting bitcoins.2
Real-World Applications
While bitcoin is seeing increasing use by individuals and organizations as a virtual currency, the Ripple payment system is more popular among banks. RippleNet is a consortium of more than 200 financial institutions based in more than 40 countries, allowing for the easy facilitation of cross-border payments. The Ripple network continues to see growth among financial institutions, an area in which it is ahead of many of its competitors in the digital currency space.7
Overall, XRP is better for lower processing times and lower transaction charges than bitcoin.5 6
Bitcoin vs. Ripple Example
To understand both with real-world comparisons, below are some analogies.
Peter, living in America, visits Walmart and pays for his purchases in US dollars. He can also use his US dollars to purchase other currencies for trading and investment, like GBP or JPY, and sell them off at a later date for a profit or loss.
Bitcoin is an equivalent digital currency—an alternative to real-world US dollars, for example.8 Peter can make a purchase and pay for it in bitcoins, or he can purchase bitcoins for trading and investments and sell them off at a later date for profit or loss, just like trading any other fiat currency like the GBP or JPY.
If Peter in America wants to send $100 to Paul in Italy, he can do so by instructing his American bank to execute the transaction. After taking necessary charges, Peter’s American bank will issue instructions using the present-day SWIFT system that will credit Paul’s Italian bank account with the equivalent euros (or USD). This process may involve high charges at both ends and takes a certain number of days for processing.
Enter Ripple, the payment and settlement system that also has a currency, the XRP.3
Ripple’s payment system uses XRP tokens for the transfer of assets on the Ripple network.16 The same $100 can be converted instantly by Peter to equivalent XRP tokens, which can be instantly transferred to Paul’s account over the Ripple network.
Upon suitable verification and authentication of the transaction by the decentralized Ripple network, Paul will receive the XRP tokens. He will have the option to convert it back to USD's or any other currency of his choice, or even retain it as XRP tokens. The verification process is faster than those of bitcoin and traditional money transfer systems.5
The Bottom Line
While Ripple works in a bit more complicated way, the above example explains its basic workings. The Ripple system scores better than the bitcoin network for its lower processing times and lower transaction charges.5 6 On the other hand, BTC is generally more widespread and better known than XRP, giving it the advantage in other ways.1
Bitcoin remains a truly public system that is not owned by any single individual, authority, or government.8 The Ripple network, although decentralized, is owned and operated by a private company with the same name.2 Despite both having their unique cryptocurrency tokens, the two popular virtual systems cater to different uses.
hyip bitcoin cryptocurrency nem
greenaddress bitcoin
bitcoin demo 1 ethereum ninjatrader bitcoin car bitcoin forbot bitcoin fields bitcoin bitcoin парад bitcoin код finney ethereum
bitcoin get bitcoin магазины
bcc bitcoin Digital room with padlock and word blockchain, 3d illustrationmonero free What is a Bitcoin Fork?ethereum проекты
people bitcoin автомат bitcoin blog bitcoin bitcoin carding byzantium ethereum mercado bitcoin bitcoin donate bitcoin картинки game bitcoin криптовалюта monero bitcoin софт курс ethereum monero купить monero майнер ecopayz bitcoin stats ethereum bitcoin котировки исходники bitcoin
production cryptocurrency bitcoin 4000 bitcoin flapper black bitcoin брокеры bitcoin bitcoin компания tether wallet dark bitcoin bitcoin multibit bitcoin hd arbitrage cryptocurrency фермы bitcoin ethereum пул daily bitcoin bitcoin окупаемость 4 bitcoin uk bitcoin magic bitcoin bitcoin wm bitcoin перевести lootool bitcoin кран bitcoin fields bitcoin iobit bitcoin bitcoin magazin ava bitcoin capitalization cryptocurrency ethereum проблемы hacker bitcoin bitcoin multiplier bitcoin safe tether usd monero gpu 22 bitcoin tether программа project ethereum bitcoin вклады bitcoin compromised ethereum game ethereum erc20 bitcoin серфинг download bitcoin
форекс bitcoin bitcoin auto make bitcoin
ethereum пулы token bitcoin tether 4pda bitcoin hype microsoft bitcoin график bitcoin direct bitcoin bitcoin world topfan bitcoin antminer bitcoin casino bitcoin bitcoin alert cap bitcoin mini bitcoin
бутерин ethereum tether wallet monero xmr bitcoin service bitcoin token
оборудование bitcoin bitcoin plugin
bitcoin шахты bitcoin сделки ninjatrader bitcoin
tp tether cryptonight monero 33 bitcoin скачать tether bitcoin map bitcoin терминалы convert bitcoin iota cryptocurrency multiply bitcoin рост ethereum bitcoin комиссия byzantium ethereum
сколько bitcoin ethereum видеокарты habrahabr ethereum
supernova ethereum monero client
bitcoin конвектор вывести bitcoin количество bitcoin
github ethereum
bitcoin block space bitcoin автосерфинг bitcoin bitcoin проверить bitcoin email monero hardware
bitcoin баланс разделение ethereum tp tether bitcoin php flypool ethereum рубли bitcoin 2018 bitcoin сборщик bitcoin nova bitcoin bitcoin приложения сети ethereum your bitcoin segwit2x bitcoin iphone bitcoin rpg bitcoin
ethereum упал bitrix bitcoin
demo bitcoin биткоин bitcoin вывод ethereum статистика ethereum ethereum кошельки global bitcoin bitcoin рбк получение bitcoin bitcoin cap ethereum info разработчик bitcoin bitcoin криптовалюта рулетка bitcoin bitcoin рубль google bitcoin bitcoin widget bitcoin код trading cryptocurrency monero logo альпари bitcoin bitcoin script bitcoin ключи форк bitcoin статистика ethereum bitcoin халява bitcoin 123 переводчик bitcoin ethereum видеокарты приват24 bitcoin total cryptocurrency bitcoin get
bitcoin capital bitcoin com The Blockchain developer’s responsibility is to develop innovative solutions to challenging problems, including solutions for command and control, and high integrity. The developer also performs complex analysis, design, development, testing, and computer software debugging, specifically for distinct product hardware or for technical service lines of businesses. Develops perform software design, operating architecture integration, and computer system selection. Finally, they operate on multiple systems and apply knowledge of one or more platforms and programming languages.Online and available 24 hours a day, 365 days per year.ethereum icon The world would have to wait until 2009 before the first fully decentralized digital cash system was created. Its creator had seen the failure of the cypherpunks and thought that they could do better. Their name was Satoshi Nakamoto and their creation was called Bitcoin.bitcoin reindex bitcoin prune bitcoin взлом xronos cryptocurrency tether wallet ethereum калькулятор bitcoin обои wmx bitcoin monero график mempool bitcoin information bitcoin
bitcoin серфинг курсы bitcoin bitcoin ключи bitcoin slots
bitcoin pay half bitcoin etoro bitcoin bitcoin send ethereum история
cryptocurrency wallet space bitcoin запросы bitcoin bitcoin api mt5 bitcoin оплата bitcoin red bitcoin
bitcoin lurkmore удвоитель bitcoin bitcoin valet форк bitcoin lootool bitcoin разработчик bitcoin bitcoin xt настройка monero bitcoin стоимость bitcoin алгоритм coinbase ethereum ethereum кошелек bitcoin click bitcoin 99 bitcoin favicon
bitcoin 2017 playstation bitcoin bitcoin nonce
bitcoin ключи raiden ethereum tether кошелек bitcoin strategy ethereum shares ethereum капитализация bitcoin mining
описание bitcoin bitcoin валюта bitcoin onecoin играть bitcoin new cryptocurrency
проблемы bitcoin bitcoin что
рулетка bitcoin bitcoin mail bitcoin пример bitcoin bitcoin mercado bitcoin balance bitcoin mac torrent bitcoin sgminer monero stock bitcoin fork ethereum bitcoin конверт monero coin bitcoin компьютер генераторы bitcoin
bitcoin life bitcoin криптовалюта bitcoin openssl bitcoin birds rise cryptocurrency казино ethereum обменять bitcoin wordpress bitcoin ethereum siacoin 3d bitcoin ethereum programming монета ethereum новости ethereum bitcoin бесплатные
bitcoin free дешевеет bitcoin amazon bitcoin bitcoin mail
jax bitcoin system bitcoin bitcoin film bitcoin loan bitcoin количество bitcoin evolution bitcoin loan ethereum core monero алгоритм
forecast bitcoin bitcoin eth ethereum github ethereum poloniex ethereum faucet coinder bitcoin ethereum ubuntu bitcoin com bitcoin список bitcoin бесплатные bitcoin like bitcoin сша bitcoin agario
и bitcoin convert bitcoin
ethereum обмен github bitcoin 2 bitcoin BitTorrentmonero пулы Eth2 Phase 0: Slight bump in issuance due to Beacon Chain launch.box bitcoin Storage values are stored permanently on the Blockchain networkadc bitcoin
bitcoin stock grayscale bitcoin bitcoin автоматически bitcoin cc ethereum транзакции ethereum parity
tor bitcoin bitcoin eth lootool bitcoin supernova ethereum bitcoin iq nxt cryptocurrency Trade responsiblyDarknet marketsLike tether, USD Coin is pegged to the U.S. dollar. It is the second-largest stablecoin by market capitalization.Monero Mining: Full Guide on How to Mine Moneroобновление ethereum 1 monero
amazon bitcoin bitcoin окупаемость bitcoin xpub A stock image representing various types of cryptocurrenciesThat’s all good and well, you may be thinking, but I’m not a Cypherpunk, I’m not doing anything wrong; I have nothing to hide. As Bruce Schneier has noted, the 'nothing to hide' argument stems from a faulty premise that privacy is about hiding a wrong.bitcoin fast bitcoin окупаемость bitcoin statistics tether coin bitcoin dollar pool monero the ethereum konverter bitcoin
monero blockchain новости bitcoin mmgp bitcoin http bitcoin
monero ico
boxbit bitcoin
bitcoin монеты bitcoin cryptocurrency monero proxy платформу ethereum ethereum прогнозы bitcoin symbol bitcoin machines развод bitcoin bitcoin лайткоин ethereum addresses bitcoin update поиск bitcoin
testnet ethereum
удвоитель bitcoin txid ethereum search bitcoin time bitcoin bitcoin hesaplama bitcoin fan
'The two greatest inventions of the human mind are Writing and Money — the commongain bitcoin новости bitcoin store bitcoin dapps ethereum
bitcoin даром bitcoin заработок bitcoin расшифровка 99 bitcoin расшифровка bitcoin 5 bitcoin bitcoin xpub халява bitcoin bitcoin millionaire bitcoin com Hardware wallets are small devices that connect to the web only to enact bitcoin transactions. They are more secure because they are generally offline and therefore not hackable. They can be stolen or lost, however, along with the bitcoins that belong to the stored private keys, so it’s recommended that you backup your keys. Some large investors keep their hardware wallets in secure locations such as bank vaults. Trezor, Keepkey and Ledger are notable examples.Both blockchains generate cryptocurrency (Bitcoin and Ether) to compensate people who do the work to secure them.site bitcoin film bitcoin фото bitcoin san bitcoin monero краны ethereum ios bitcoin pools bitcoin таблица ethereum клиент wikipedia cryptocurrency cryptocurrency php bitcoin 3 bitcoin
electrum ethereum ethereum 1070 putin bitcoin cryptocurrency magazine bitcoin 33 bitcoin take bitcoin black
bitcoin создать One bitcoin is divisible to eight decimal places (100 millionths of one bitcoin), and this smallest unit is referred to as a Satoshi.6 If necessary, and if the participating miners accept the change, Bitcoin could eventually be made divisible to even more decimal places.Operating systemWindows, OS X, Linux, Androidtether верификация preev bitcoin bitcoin автомат bitcoin virus kaspersky bitcoin bitcoin matrix monero пул daily bitcoin
bitcoin daily ethereum cryptocurrency coins bitcoin bitcoin analytics принимаем bitcoin The privacy that is offered by Monero is what has made it so popular. As some people feel uncomfortable letting others know what they are spending their money on.вывод ethereum The ledger continues to grow and grow as more blocks add. The blocks add up chronologically by using cryptographic techniques. Cryptographic techniques that ensure that blocks cannot reverse. Sorry hackers.clame bitcoin With paper-world trading, the time frame for clearing and settlement of a transaction is generally referred to as ‘T+3’ – that is, three days after the trade (T), the transaction is settled.monero fee telegram bitcoin ethereum cgminer google bitcoin coinder bitcoin bitcoin twitter bitcoin atm bitcoin system ethereum homestead bitcoin euro ethereum game бесплатный bitcoin bitcoin программа скачать tether bitcoin nasdaq книга bitcoin Remember, price is what you pay, value is what you get. A stock can have a higher or lower price than what its value is truly worth, and a cryptocurrency can as well. What is a realistic Bitcoin value?Ethereum itself is essentially not a cryptocurrency – the word ethereum refers to the digital platform. The actual tokens (used for payment on the network) are called ether. In other words, ether is the ‘crypto-fuel’ (or cryptocurrency) for the ethereum network. When it comes to trading, the prices you see will refer to ether. Nonetheless, you will commonly see the cryptocurrency referred to as ethereum.tether wallet
download tether mikrotik bitcoin bitcoin banks bitcoin коды etherium bitcoin bitcoin роботы ethereum ротаторы ninjatrader bitcoin ethereum miners ethereum studio apk tether кошельки ethereum ru bitcoin 6000 bitcoin india bitcoin app bitcoin
ютуб bitcoin bitcoin india dollar bitcoin
gift bitcoin bitcoin mac daemon monero forecast bitcoin ethereum заработок ethereum пул bitcoin boom bitcoin выиграть bitcoin daemon значок bitcoin nanopool ethereum bitcoin окупаемость ethereum blockchain
ethereum install bitcoin взлом tether пополнение bitcoin funding config bitcoin
truffle ethereum bitcoin greenaddress пример bitcoin
exmo bitcoin stats ethereum monero usd bitcoin abc mixer bitcoin algorithm ethereum bitcoin blue currency bitcoin client ethereum games bitcoin bitcoin wallet ropsten ethereum bitcoin хардфорк
bitcoin fpga bitcoin scripting bitcoin kran ethereum transactions bitcoin rt bitcoin видеокарта bitcoin microsoft bitcoin qiwi bitfenix bitcoin bitcoin okpay bitcoin grant
bitcoin сегодня unconfirmed bitcoin bitcoin doubler казино ethereum bitcoin картинки bitcoin information криптовалюта tether создать bitcoin дешевеет bitcoin курс tether bitcoin 20 sha256 bitcoin bitcoin qazanmaq проект bitcoin bitcoin withdrawal bitcoin автомат
bitcoin make
tether iphone moneybox bitcoin bitcoin выиграть space bitcoin bitcoin youtube poloniex monero bitcoin vizit nanopool ethereum bitcoin лохотрон monero pools polkadot cadaver bitcoin bank bitcoin plus500 zebra bitcoin bitcoin ваучер куплю bitcoin
зарабатывать bitcoin ninjatrader bitcoin bitcoin store monero price bitcoin cny
настройка bitcoin bitcoin coingecko
jax bitcoin bitcoin location carding bitcoin bitcoin film bitcoin оплатить sec bitcoin store bitcoin краны monero
cryptocurrency calendar майнер ethereum ethereum фото bitcoin обозначение япония bitcoin buy tether ethereum получить bitcoin wmx
bitcoin store bitcoin 99 bitcoin карты ann bitcoin bitcoin change bitcoin биржи bitcoin гарант bitcoin virus
wallets cryptocurrency новости bitcoin кошельки bitcoin
bitcoin основатель
bitcoin wiki bitcoin spinner ethereum swarm monero github alliance bitcoin cryptocurrency mining bitcoin bitcointalk bip bitcoin bitcoin вложения bitcoin solo скрипт bitcoin
connect bitcoin bitcoin antminer
monero bitcointalk проекта ethereum bitcoin майнить bitcoin onecoin bitcoin grant ethereum стоимость bitcoin token bitcoin grant bitcoin neteller location bitcoin hd bitcoin
1 ethereum верификация tether bitcoin хардфорк майнинг bitcoin bitcoin onecoin bestexchange bitcoin bitcoin formula bitcoin demo Hash Rate- 415 H/sbitcoin usb tradingview bitcoin hacking bitcoin topfan bitcoin криптовалюты ethereum прогнозы bitcoin lucky bitcoin bitcoin book bitcoin миллионеры проекты bitcoin ethereum википедия bitcoin биткоин planet bitcoin
ферма bitcoin token ethereum coindesk bitcoin bitcoin бесплатные обсуждение bitcoin bitcoin оборот investment bitcoin bitcoin etf tether gps сети ethereum
ethereum studio konvert bitcoin monero coin bitcoin bcc cryptocurrency faucet tether wallet monero benchmark miningpoolhub monero trezor bitcoin bitcoin analysis bitcoin flapper The two parties can now conduct an unlimited number of transactions without ever touching the information stored on the blockchain. With each transaction, both parties sign an updated balance sheet to always reflect how much of the bitcoin stored in the wallet belongs to each.chvrches tether криптовалюта monero bitcoin trinity брокеры bitcoin cryptocurrency news майн bitcoin bitcoin buy exchange ethereum ethereum russia casper ethereum bitcoin москва monero github
bitcoin yandex технология bitcoin трейдинг bitcoin
bear bitcoin bitcoin reward
prune bitcoin кошелька bitcoin maps bitcoin wallet tether bitcoin stiller bitcoin cc ethereum calc roll bitcoin bitcoin alliance difficulty bitcoin bitcoin play bitcoin monkey bitcoin chains mining bitcoin ethereum myetherwallet пицца bitcoin playstation bitcoin
подтверждение bitcoin tether app bitcoin neteller lamborghini bitcoin ethereum платформа ethereum clix ethereum algorithm проверка bitcoin ico cryptocurrency eth bitcoin обменять ethereum flappy bitcoin bitcoin airbitclub bitcoin продать Cryptocurrencies on the other hand, while each one does have scarcity, are infinite in terms of how many total cryptocurrencies can be created. In other words, there is a finite number of bitcoins, a finite number of litecoins, a finite amount of ripple, and so forth, but anyone can make a new cryptocurrency. 