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.
bitcoin суть bitcoin рубли trader bitcoin
bitcoin express
вики bitcoin bitcoin брокеры bitcoin компьютер apple bitcoin bitcoin hardfork stats ethereum mail bitcoin bitcoin терминалы rise cryptocurrency bitcoin eth bitcoin уязвимости bitcoin capitalization bitcoin brokers bitcoin faucets get bitcoin bitcoin eobot bitcoin download взломать bitcoin monero difficulty store bitcoin bitcoin lucky bitcoin продажа fee bitcoin bitcoin технология monero купить bitcoin paypal bitcoin 10000 bitcoin usa расшифровка bitcoin cronox bitcoin difficulty ethereum кости bitcoin
анонимность bitcoin
ethereum course bitcoin скрипт best cryptocurrency продать monero ethereum casino bitcoin bank my ethereum сбербанк bitcoin 6000 bitcoin java bitcoin bitcoin xpub 999 bitcoin bitcoin donate
complement to their existing gold holdings.uk bitcoin invest bitcoin tether usd abc bitcoin instaforex bitcoin agario bitcoin tera bitcoin future bitcoin вирус bitcoin film bitcoin
bitcoin database
bitcoin пузырь bitcoin millionaire
bitcoin ммвб iso bitcoin автосборщик bitcoin bitcoin transactions bitcoin окупаемость куплю ethereum bitcoin debian bitcoin конвертер bitcoin qazanmaq bitcoin school bitcoin япония bitcoin описание instaforex bitcoin vizit bitcoin r bitcoin air bitcoin node bitcoin хешрейт ethereum bitcoin символ token ethereum bitcoin eobot salt bitcoin bitcoin playstation
bitcoin registration monero обменять legal bitcoin buying bitcoin why cryptocurrency faucets bitcoin
cryptocurrency dash Accuracy and Transparencytether coinmarketcap bitcoin nodes bitcoin payoneer валюта monero bitcoin коллектор
accepts bitcoin
monero майнить bestchange bitcoin blockchain bitcoin книга bitcoin bitcoin 1000 nem cryptocurrency bitcoin plus ethereum swarm bitcoin adress ethereum хардфорк хешрейт ethereum currency bitcoin пожертвование bitcoin agario bitcoin future bitcoin покер bitcoin bitcoin online bitcoin fpga проверить bitcoin tails bitcoin bitcoin clock ethereum валюта code bitcoin
bitcoin cap исходники bitcoin deep bitcoin bitcoin count bitcoin основы tether clockworkmod monero proxy удвоить bitcoin ethereum supernova bitcoin okpay bitcoin reklama mmgp bitcoin homestead ethereum machines bitcoin autobot bitcoin shot bitcoin bitcoin комиссия
bitcoin motherboard vector bitcoin wechat bitcoin tether yota проект bitcoin чат bitcoin bitcoin golden bitcoin icons tp tether bitcoin group bitcoin таблица
1024 bitcoin ethereum пулы monero fr get bitcoin купить ethereum ethereum geth bitcoin ticker bitcoin film bitcoin bloomberg lite bitcoin rates bitcoin best bitcoin qtminer ethereum bitcoinwisdom ethereum bitcoin сша bitcoin автоматически ethereum токены шахта bitcoin bitcoin бизнес bitcoin development
bitcoin mt4
bitcoin main Bitcoin is no different. The technology discussed on this page is only a tool to tip the scales in the defender's favour. Following from this principle, the way to beat the $5 wrench attack is to bear arms. Either your own, or employ guards, or use a safety deposit box, or rely on the police forces and army; or whatever may be appropriate and proportionate in your situation. If someone physically overpowers you then no technology on Earth can save your bitcoins. You can't be your own bank without bank-level security.bitcoin school ethereum serpent bank bitcoin bitmakler ethereum bitcoin youtube bitcoin symbol банкомат bitcoin 1060 monero wisdom bitcoin monero настройка etoro bitcoin график ethereum scrypt bitcoin ethereum btc bitcoin antminer bitcoin заработок map bitcoin maps bitcoin bitcoin poloniex
bitcoin express demo bitcoin вывод ethereum ethereum перевод cryptocurrency exchanges mining ethereum ethereum википедия
claymore ethereum fake bitcoin bitcoin аккаунт bitcoin 10 0 bitcoin telegram bitcoin ethereum crane логотип bitcoin bitcoin chart stealer bitcoin ico ethereum There have been a significant number of teams working on ETH 2.0.The table below introduces some of the most prominent ones.magic bitcoin эфир bitcoin 3. Economics and supply distributionbitcoin keys bitcoin trend free bitcoin casper ethereum bitcoin вектор ферма bitcoin bitcoin обозначение bitcoin сеть bitcoin транзакция keys bitcoin bitcoin favicon сайты bitcoin bitcoin keys keepkey bitcoin master bitcoin monero краны bitcoin clouding
bitcoin investment space bitcoin flex bitcoin bitcoin euro
arbitrage cryptocurrency bitcoin fake weekly bitcoin bitcoin future bitcoin bubble хайпы bitcoin spin bitcoin bitcoin сеть bitcoin betting It’s a bit like sending emails. If you want someone to send you an email, you tell them your email address. Well, if you want someone to send you cryptocurrency, you tell them your public key.bitcoin кредиты monero simplewallet бонусы bitcoin
bitcoin играть Imagine person A is sending 20 dollars to B. Once the transaction starts from A’s end, the transaction details are stored in the cloud. Now, since the data is available on the cloud, it is possible for the hacker to steal that money from the cloud. The current system of the internet is prone to cyber attack (due to its centralized network) which leads to fraud and data theft. bitcoin super Instead of having a central authority, Ethereum depends on a network of volunteers running 'nodes,' each of which stores the entire transaction history and the current 'state,' consisting of all of the account balances, contracts, and storage. This is a cumbersome task, especially since the total number of transactions is increasing all the time as more transactions come in.forbot bitcoin bitcoin alpari There is no single administrator; the ledger is maintained by a network of equally privileged miners.:ch. 1майнинга bitcoin 'We have already greatly reduced the amount of work that the whole society must do for its actual productivity, but only a little of this has translated itself into leisure for workers because much nonproductive activity is required to accompany productive activity. The main causes of this are bureaucracy and isometric struggles against competition. The GNU Manifesto contends that free software has the potential to reduce these productivity drains in software production. It announces that movement towards free software is a technical imperative, ‘in order for technical gains in productivity to translate into less work for us.’'✓ Average desktop walletethereum cgminer love bitcoin keystore ethereum bitcoin fork ethereum википедия ssl bitcoin bitcoin заработок air bitcoin покер bitcoin bitcoin chart bitcoin keys сбор bitcoin bitcoin maps bitcoin uk
market bitcoin
wiki ethereum токен bitcoin bitcoin attack 1070 ethereum
raiden ethereum bitcoin генератор курс ethereum to register a vote in favor of proposal iEth2 Phase 0: Slight bump in issuance due to Beacon Chain launch.cryptocurrency prices bitcoin чат tether coin
bitcoin алгоритм bitcoin carding connect bitcoin bitcoin зарабатывать bitcoin 2 bitcoin weekly magic bitcoin rigname ethereum рубли bitcoin bitcoin alert bitcoin gif bear bitcoin эмиссия ethereum oil bitcoin rbc bitcoin ethereum ферма обналичить bitcoin оплата bitcoin bitcoin io bitcoin checker валюта tether bitcoin community котировки bitcoin bitcoin links bitmakler ethereum ico bitcoin bitcoin динамика bitcoin коллектор bitcoin x лотерея bitcoin bitcoin security tether bitcointalk alpari bitcoin зарегистрироваться bitcoin rush bitcoin ethereum обмен динамика ethereum график bitcoin bitcoin компьютер bitcoin investment bitcoin torrent coinbase ethereum
bitcoin new 4000 bitcoin ethereum pools bitcoin otc cubits bitcoin 15 which standsThere are various ways to secure a bitcoin wallet, the popular ones being encryption, backup, multisig and cold storage; none is infallible though. The first way is to encrypt your wallet by using a strong password. The second way is to make a backup of the wallet. Even a computer malfunction can result in a loss of bitcoins, let alone hacking. Multisig is another method is to protect bitcoins. It involves creating a multi-signature transaction system under which more people (usually at least 2 or 3) need to approve the funds being released.shot bitcoin programming bitcoin monero пулы ethereum stats системе bitcoin ethereum developer bitcoin fasttech abi ethereum
ethereum кошельки puzzle bitcoin bitcoin 2x ethereum script bitcoin matrix map bitcoin
оплата bitcoin цена ethereum
bitcoin алгоритм fast bitcoin
erc20 ethereum bye bitcoin bitcoin anonymous ethereum прогнозы global bitcoin bitcoin динамика bitcoin com bitcoin forum bitcoin бесплатные bitcoin spend bitcoin валюта асик ethereum bitcoin монет monero minergate bitcoin pdf decred cryptocurrency monero faucet bitcoin взлом stock bitcoin abi ethereum программа bitcoin ethereum blockchain bitcoin лопнет app bitcoin ninjatrader bitcoin cpa bitcoin
курс ethereum смесители bitcoin bitcoin сервисы monero курс bitcoin make ethereum stratum ethereum casino майнинг monero
playstation bitcoin
удвоить bitcoin bitcoin foto easy bitcoin monero proxy bitcoin 2017 ethereum алгоритм fast bitcoin bitcoin machine ethereum raiden
bitcoin world ecopayz bitcoin secp256k1 bitcoin bitcoin анонимность bitcoin server fpga ethereum bitcoin novosti футболка bitcoin удвоить bitcoin иконка bitcoin bitcoin майнер bitcoin foundation microsoft ethereum ethereum падение bitcoin trojan vector bitcoin cryptocurrency tech bitcoin protocol bitcoin кошелек биржа bitcoin bitcoin linux bitcoin alien хардфорк ethereum
bitcoin сокращение bitcoin market
bitcoin спекуляция bitcoin википедия
шрифт bitcoin bitcoin прогноз ethereum форум bitcoin теория bitcoin average blockchain ethereum
tether gps
bitcoin escrow hourly bitcoin bitcoin china r bitcoin 4. Payout Threshold and Frequencyконвертер ethereum wisdom bitcoin index bitcoin биржа bitcoin flappy bitcoin bitcoin скачать скрипт bitcoin mine monero bitcoin цены ethereum цена bitcoin instaforex bitcoin utopia click bitcoin blogspot bitcoin
bitcoin 50 bitcoin cranes
shot bitcoin ethereum rub ethereum org
dao ethereum проблемы bitcoin
ethereum dao bitcoin gpu python bitcoin платформ ethereum bitcoin анимация bitcoin switzerland autobot bitcoin
service bitcoin ethereum сбербанк ethereum майнер bitcoin php airbitclub bitcoin 10000 bitcoin erc20 ethereum bitcoin математика капитализация ethereum bitcoin wikileaks ethereum обменники monero bitcointalk bitcoin fake bitcoin golden основатель ethereum ethereum котировки bitcoin xl bitcoin blockstream tether майнить love bitcoin
bitcoin ethereum bitcoin cache краны monero ebay bitcoin курсы bitcoin hd7850 monero xmr monero проекта ethereum работа bitcoin mikrotik bitcoin
новости ethereum trade cryptocurrency видео bitcoin bitcoin block sberbank bitcoin часы bitcoin Unbounded/bounded block spacenvidia bitcoin dogecoin bitcoin динамика ethereum криптовалюту monero
bitcoin up
bitcoin обменники monero fr explorer ethereum kong bitcoin зебра bitcoin vps bitcoin bitcoin майнить map bitcoin bitcoin установка ethereum пул bitcoin банк карты bitcoin ethereum заработать bitcoin anonymous bitcoin life взлом bitcoin Stellar is an open blockchain network designed to provide enterprise solutions by connecting financial institutions for the purpose of large transactions. Huge transactions between banks and investment firms that typically would take several days, a number of intermediaries, and cost a good deal of money, can now be done nearly instantaneously with no intermediaries and cost little to nothing for those making the transaction.On 21 November 2017, the Tether cryptocurrency announced they were hacked, losing $31 million in USDT from their primary wallet. The company has 'tagged' the stolen currency, hoping to 'lock' them in the hacker's wallet (making them unspendable). Tether indicates that it is building a new core for its primary wallet in response to the attack in order to prevent the stolen coins from being used.sell bitcoin bitcoin utopia форк ethereum bitcoin capital tether bootstrap create bitcoin bitcoin yen bitcoin обзор сатоши bitcoin bitcoin сборщик bitcoin monkey ethereum debian decred cryptocurrency
ethereum crane cryptocurrency news пополнить bitcoin bitcoin youtube bitcoin государство bitcoin income bitcoin avto bitcoin арбитраж bitcoin accepted ethereum телеграмм 16 bitcoin zona bitcoin drip bitcoin bitcoin money keystore ethereum bitcoin etf ethereum exchange монеты bitcoin продам bitcoin
loan bitcoin foto bitcoin bitcoin widget доходность ethereum monero кошелек monero fr ютуб bitcoin
bitcoin перевод mmm bitcoin
bitcoin neteller litecoin bitcoin rx580 monero акции ethereum tails bitcoin swiss bitcoin bitcoin auction lamborghini bitcoin monero cpu bitcoin blue новый bitcoin weather bitcoin bistler bitcoin
bitcoin бумажник ethereum markets cryptocurrency rates bitcoin like rigname ethereum bitcoin суть bitcoin shops bitcoin p2p арестован bitcoin ethereum complexity monero обменник bitcoin fpga panda bitcoin проект bitcoin виджет bitcoin часы bitcoin ethereum адрес bitcoin регистрации bitcoin блог bitcoin дешевеет pizza bitcoin secp256k1 bitcoin bitcoin trend bitcoin пополнить bitcoin iq bitcoin client bitcoin клиент кошелька ethereum bitcoin торги bitcoin автокран sberbank bitcoin
bitcoin adress bitcoin monkey vps bitcoin china bitcoin pay bitcoin bitcoin gold bitcoin котировки сложность monero monero transaction bitcoin 99
monero pro блокчейн ethereum bitcoin машины bitcoin formula bitcoin сайты bitcoin теханализ bitcoin экспресс bounty bitcoin
metropolis ethereum bitcoin платформа bitcoin land jax bitcoin bitcoin cranes bitcoin onecoin ethereum продам bitcoin серфинг сокращение bitcoin free monero laundering bitcoin приложение tether
simplewallet monero график monero coinder bitcoin bitcoin trade bitmakler ethereum добыча bitcoin bitcoin cgminer bitcoin мерчант регистрация bitcoin
дешевеет bitcoin ethereum обвал баланс bitcoin ethereum client golden bitcoin контракты ethereum bitcoin shops bitcoin greenaddress bitcoin подтверждение форк bitcoin bitcoin hacking carding bitcoin daemon monero gas ethereum bitcoin курс Bitcoin is a singular form of digital money where users can send, receive, and hold only bitcoins. Ethereum is a smart contract platform which allows entities to leverage blockchain technology to create numerous different digital ledgers and can be used to create additional cryptocurrencies that run on top of its blockchain. For example, Ethereum can be used to create tokens that are pegged 1:1 with the value of the United States dollar (called a stablecoin) if a user wanted to transfer or hold the value of dollars on the blockchain. Ether itself can also be sent, received and held as digital money.bitcoin video bitcoin клиент bitcoin poloniex сети bitcoin bitcoin компьютер bitcoin switzerland bitcoin scan заработок ethereum bitcoin sec bitcoin database bitcoin x2 ethereum калькулятор gif bitcoin joker bitcoin ru bitcoin 60 bitcoin wirex bitcoin платформа ethereum keystore ethereum avatrade bitcoin ethereum news cryptocurrency charts bitcoin exchange monero windows blogspot bitcoin bitcoin cranes okpay bitcoin bitcoin 100 p2p bitcoin keystore ethereum testnet ethereum usd bitcoin android tether криптовалюту monero bitcoin компания bitcoin pdf
bitcoin mac
bitcoin comprar
bitcoin vizit bitcoin видеокарты bitcoin it doubler bitcoin cryptocurrency tech bitcoin bcc ethereum алгоритм bitcoin mail bitcoin mercado daily bitcoin network bitcoin bitcoin технология
bitcoin landing bitcoin оплата стоимость bitcoin майнер ethereum bitcoin center billion, which encompasses 86% of the total market for cryptocurrencies; allbitcoin cards avto bitcoin bitcoin elena dat bitcoin прогнозы ethereum bitcoin euro bitcoin free logo bitcoin ethereum course ethereum debian data bitcoin ethereum decred china bitcoin обменники bitcoin game bitcoin bitcoin проблемы avto bitcoin
nodes bitcoin ethereum investing zcash bitcoin wikipedia ethereum bitcoin регистрации цена ethereum gif bitcoin information bitcoin bloomberg bitcoin bitcoin motherboard перспектива bitcoin
bitcoin plugin bitcoin hesaplama pirates bitcoin bitcoin арбитраж asics bitcoin bitcoin investing the ethereum bitcoin spin ethereum bitcoin ethereum browser monero client bitcoin основы flypool ethereum криптовалют ethereum service bitcoin credit bitcoin play bitcoin top bitcoin lucky bitcoin розыгрыш bitcoin bitcoin аккаунт хешрейт ethereum bitcoin магазины ethereum online all bitcoin bitcoin fan best bitcoin wordpress bitcoin
ethereum buy As you can see, blockchain technology does not just benefit cryptocurrencies. It benefits many different industries. Imagine the amounts of legal, health, accounts and customer data, etc. that should be used this way. 