The confusion between Ripple and XRP is one of the most common misconceptions in the entire crypto space. Journalists write 'Ripple coin', investors say they bought 'Ripple', and even some exchanges label XRP incorrectly. In reality, Ripple and XRP are related but fundamentally distinct entities.
What Is Ripple (the Company)?
What Is Ripple (the Company)?
Ripple is a San Francisco-based fintech company, officially known as Ripple Labs Inc. It was founded in 2012 and has raised over $1.3 billion in venture capital funding. Ripple builds payment solutions for financial institutions, including RippleNet, On-Demand Liquidity (ODL), and Ripple Custody.
The company does hold a significant amount of XRP — approximately 45–50 billion XRP in escrow — which it releases on a schedule to fund operations and partnerships. However, Ripple does not control the XRP Ledger, which is maintained by an independent community of validators worldwide.
What Is XRP (the Asset)?
What Is XRP (the Asset)?
XRP is the native digital asset of the XRP Ledger (XRPL). It is open-source, decentralized, and operates 24/7 independent of any single company. Even if Ripple Labs shut down tomorrow, the XRP Ledger would continue to function.
XRP was created in 2012 by three independent developers: Jed McCaleb, Arthur Britto, and David Schwartz. They gifted 80 billion XRP to Ripple Labs to fund the company's mission, retaining 20 billion for themselves.
- ✓XRP Ledger is open-source and maintained by independent validators
- ✓Ripple is one of many validators — not a controller
- ✓XRP transactions require no central authority to confirm
- ✓Ripple's escrow represents about 45% of total XRP supply
- ✓XRP predates Ripple's commercial products
Ripple vs XRP FAQs
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