LIVEWhat Is XRP?
XRP is a cryptocurrency and token Ripple Labs uses to facilitate transactions on its network. XRP primarily enhances global financial transfers and the exchange of several currencies.
WHAT WAS THE MOTIVE TO BUILD XRP ?
The goal behind Ripple(XRP) was similar to the vision of Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto, which was to foster an easier, faster, and more secure way to make transactions globally. The tradeoff with Ripplepay was that it didn’t rely on the blockchain; instead, it was centralized.
In 2011, McCaleb, David Schwartz, and Arthur Britto started developing the XRP ledger as a recourse to the inherent limitations of Bitcoin. In 2012, when the XRP ledger was launched, it incorporated the native token XRP to aid its function. This team of engineers was later joined shortly after by Larsen, who now sits as Ripple’s executive chairman and co-founder.
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Later, in December 2020, Ripple's CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, informed the public about the SEC's plan to sue the company. Days later, on Dec. 22, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple for selling XRP as an unlicensed security. The agency claimed that distributing $1.3 billion worth of Ripple's XRP token to its stakeholders violated its law. At the time, XRP was the third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization
The case of SEC v Ripple was finalized on July 13, 2023. The court ruled that Ripple violated securities laws by offering unregistered securities to institutional investors but didn't when selling XRP on exchanges.
