The new year has brought some surprises on the front of the Cryptocurrency, but the most important thing is that ripple: in the last 24 hours, the currency rose 25% to break $3 and finished second behind Bitcoin.
Ripple’s recent run is partly notable as it has eclipsed Ethereum, which has long been the second digital currency to be regarded as the only real rival to Bitcoin.
As you can see, Ripple now has a market capitalization of $ 120 billion, nearly 35% higher than Ethereum and almost half of Bitcoin. It is unclear what pushes prices higher, though the interest of new hedge funds is likely to be an important reason.
The emergence of ripple is also noteworthy because, unlike the other digital currencies on the list, it is not generated by a decentralized extraction process. In contrast, Ripple’s money supply, technically known as XRP, has been created in one fell swoop, and much of it belongs to the company itself as a kind of treasury.
As explained by CEO Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple may use its XRP supply as a strategic asset, while its delivery business to banks will develop a source of Blockchain-based liquidity.
The reaction to Ripple’s recent rise was greeted with some complaints on Twitter, which were suggested by some as a trick instead of a real digital currency.
Others point out, however, if Garlinghouse Ripple achieves the goal of changing the existing global financial infrastructure, the consequences would be profound: the question of whether Ripple will ultimately change the world or just a novelty depends largely on whether the banks use XRP as such introduce the bridge currency for the money transfer.
Skeptics say that this is unlikely because it is centralized and cannot provide enough liquidity compared to Bitcoin. However, Garlinghouse argues that Ripple offers a faster and more cost-effective accounting system and less risk to banks than Bitcoin.
Meanwhile, a beneficiary of the rise of ripple co-founder Chris Larsen, who is now listed in the world of the richest men (37 billion Euros below based on XRP’s $ 2.39, so Larsen’s wealth is actually even greater).
In response to rising prices from Ripple, a company spokesperson made the following statement:
“In a year marked by the dramatic increase in digital assets, XRP has overtaken the industry as a whole, and it looks like the year will end at more than 45,000%. The performance of XRP focuses on a true global payments problem for real customers, and in a fraction of a cent and about 3 seconds per transaction on the solution, it’s cheaper, faster and more efficient than BTC or ETH. As others have already noted, Bitcoin does not solve a payment problem when a transaction costs $ 40 and takes hours.
The market seems to understand more and more that there is a real advantage for XRP in solving massive cross-border payments and liquidity problems, measured in trillions of dollars.”
