1. Creation and origin: XRP was created by Ripple Labs, founded in 2012. However, its history dates back to 2004 when Ryan Fugger created the concept of RipplePay. Later, this idea was developed by Jed McCaleb and Chris Larsen, who founded Ripple Labs.
2. Purpose and use: XRP was designed for use in global money transfers, providing fast and cheap transactions. Unlike traditional systems like SWIFT, transactions with XRP occur in seconds rather than days.
3. Differences from other cryptocurrencies: XRP does not use the traditional mining model like Bitcoin or Ethereum. Instead, all coins were pre-mined, and their total supply is limited to 100 billion. This makes XRP unique in terms of distribution and energy efficiency.
4. Regulations and lawsuits: Ripple Labs has long faced legal issues, particularly with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which claimed that XRP is an unregistered security. This case has impacted the market value of the cryptocurrency and its distribution.
5. Use in the banking sector: Ripple actively collaborates with major financial institutions such as Santander and American Express to enhance transactions between countries. XRP is often used as a "bridge" currency to facilitate exchanges between different fiat currencies.
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These features make XRP a significant player in the cryptocurrency market, despite its differences from more popular coins like Bitcoin.