XRP is best known as the cryptocurrency for banks and financial institutions, but anyone can use it for fast and cheap transactions.
Key Takeaways
- Ripple’s XRP is the third largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization
- Using the XRP blockchain offers fast transactions and low fees
- As a top-three coin, XRP is widely supported by merchants and exchanges
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XRP is the native cryptocurrency of the XRP Ledger, a blockchain created by Ripple. Though XRP is aimed at financial institutions, general investors can also take advantage of low fees and fast transaction speeds. Here’s how.
Buying the XRP Token
First, to obtain XRP, it’s necessary to go through a cryptocurrency exchange.
Popular exchanges with XRP/USD trading pairs include Binance.US, Bitfinex, Bitstamp, Coinbase Pro, and Kraken. These are good options for buying the cryptocurrency with a credit card or bank transfer. Coinbase’s retail exchange and Bitbox do not offer the coin.
Buying XRP with Bitcoin, however, opens up many other options. Because the token is a top-three cryptocurrency by market capitalization, virtually all major exchanges have at least one trading pair against XRP.
Choosing a Wallet
To store and use any kind of cryptocurrency it is necessary to use a wallet. Though there is no official XRP wallet there are a few options to choose from:
- Toast Wallet: A free and popular XRP wallet for desktop, mobile, or Chrome browsers. It has no transaction fees.
- Exarpy: Another free wallet that runs in through a web browser. It charges a fee of 0.0025 XRP per transaction.
- Gatehub: An XRP wallet for web browsers that requires sign-up. It charges a 0.2% fee on transfers. It offers exchange and conversion features, which may have associated fees.
- Ripplerm: A technical XRP wallet. It may be useful for users who experience issues with other wallets, or those who need to further customize transaction details.
- Bithomp: Another fairly technical wallet.
We recommend Toast Wallet because it is free, easy to use, and gives users complete control of their funds. Setup instructions are available here.
Though most wallets have low transaction fees, addresses require an initial activation deposit of 20 XRP, about $4 at current prices. The initial deposit is locked up with the address. Those who store their tokens on cryptocurrency exchanges may be able to avoid this initial deposit.
Hardware Wallets
A hardware wallet is a good option for investors who plan to store their cryptocurrency for the long term. Trezor and Ledger are two of the most popular hardware wallet providers that support the cryptocurrency.
Trezor Model T: $162; Ledger Nano S: $65; Ledger Nano X: $113
These hardware wallets come with an official app that will, upon activation, allow users to send and receive XRP. It is safer to keep cryptocurrency in a hardware wallet for “cold storage” and then send it to a software wallet for general spending as a “hot wallet.” This mitigates…
Read more:How to Use XRP: Using Ripple’s Token for Beginners | Crypto Briefing
