The XRP Ledger presents many opportunities.
Most individuals who follow cryptocurrency are familiar with certain key aspects of the XRP ecosystem. That might be because the following points have been all over the news and social media:
- Ripple Labs is a software company that holds the majority of XRP tokens and creates innovative software for banks and financial institutions related to cross-border payments. Ripple is embroiled in a lawsuit with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in which the government agency has claimed that the XRP token is a security and that Ripple, along with two of its executives, violated securities laws.
- XRP is a cryptocurrency token. All units of XRP have all been created, so there is no mining needed. Because of the lawsuit, Coinbase and other centralized exchanges based in the U.S. do not list XRP.
- There is a very passionate online community, known as the XRP Army, which is willing to go to battle with proponents of other cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. Such online battles can become “colorful,” to say the least.
Because of these factors, like many others, I made the mistake of shying away from the XRP ecosystem for quite some time. I have since corrected this poor judgment. For those willing to look past the noise to see what is under the hood, keep reading!
The XRP Ledger is a decentralized blockchain ecosystem. Much like Ethereum and the Binance Smart Chain, there are many decentralized applications and tokens are being built on the XRP Ledger. And here’s a spoiler for you — the gas fees per average transaction are far less than 1/100 of 1 cent.
This ecosystem offers a number of benefits for those holding XRP. Join us as we look under the hood:
XRP Ledger
The XRP ledger is its own distinct decentralized, global computer network. It is led by a developer community, which is completely independent of Ripple Labs. It is known for being efficient, fast and reliable. For a deeper dive, you can see the XRP Ledger’s website here.
The XRP token, and hundreds of other tokens, are built on the XRP ledger, with more being added every day. It is decentralized, so any developer team can build on this blockchain.
Some examples of products built on the XRP Ledger for use in accessing tokens include the Xumm Wallet and the Sologenic DEX.
Xumm Wallet
The Xumm wallet is a decentralized mobile and desktop wallet that allows users to store their XRP and all other XRP Ledger tokens in a secure fashion. It is non-custodial, meaning the user holds their own secret keys. To access the funds on the wallet, one would need access to their password and if this was lost, their backup keys. If this was lost, the funds could not be accessed.
The minimum requirement to open a wallet on the XRP Ledger is 10 XRP. A single XRP is under $1 as of this writing, according to CoinMarketCap figures.
The wallet has functionality for airdrops through what is called a “Trustline” on the XRP Ledger. It also functions seamlessly with the Sologenic DEX and has other built-in decentralized applications.
Trustlines & Airdrops
For crypto enthusiasts, one of the most interesting features of the XRP Ledger, which is built into the Xumm wallet, is the airdrops. Projects deliver airdrops to all those who have set up a “Trustline,” which is a link between a user’s Xumm wallet and the token project.
Using the Xumm wallet is a very popular way one can connect Trustlines with various XRP Ledger projects. It costs two units of XRP to set up a Trustline, and one can close it when one is done and receive those two units back. There is also a transaction fee for this, but it is far less than 1/10,000 of an XRP.
Through Trustlines, projects airdrop tokens to wallet holders. There are dozens ongoing currently.
In early November, one of the larger projects in the ecosystem, Aesthetes, a Phygital (physical + digital) Art gallery with its own token ELS, dropped around 5,643 ELS tokens to over 90,000 Trustlines. This involved more than 507 million tokens.
The ELS token, as of this writing, is valued just under $0.09, according to CoinMarketCap. This places the value of each airdrop around $485 and the total value of the airdrop at $45.6 million. This makes it one of the largest airdrops in crypto history.
There are over a dozen other projects with planned airdrops to Trustlines over the next month. This includes the Sologenic (SOLO) token itself, which takes a snapshot on Dec. 24. In this specific case, unlike other trustlines, the airdrop will be going out to users who hold XRP and/or SOLO tokens, based on how many tokens held, as covered in this article.
To learn more about the Xumm Wallet and Trustlines, you can visit the Xumm Community.
Sologenic Decentralized Exchange
There are many tokens on the XRP Ledger, and they all can be traded with XRP as a base pair on the Sologenic DEX. It connects users to a trading ecosystem for the XRP ledger. The Xumm wallet has a built-in connection to the Sologenic DEX, which can also be accessed online here.
One well-known trick used by veteran crypto traders, which is both high-risk and high-reward, involves buying tokens on decentralized exchanges. Once these digital assets are listed on a centralized exchange, they frequently skyrocket in value as traders respond to the news.
This is a high risk/reward proposition because a sharp price increase may never materialize, and the tokens purchased could easily go to zero due to the low liquidity they have on decentralized exchanges.
Cryptocurrencies like these are also the ones mostly likely to show 10 times returns, as opposed to digital currencies that are already well-established and listed on major centralized exchanges.
Conclusion
As you can see, there is a lot more under the hood for the XRP token and its ecosystem — the XRP Ledger. This is a benefit for XRP holders, and perhaps won’t be the best kept secret in crypto for long.
With hundreds of projects under development — from Metaverse, to decentralized wallets and exchanges, gaming, NFTs and others, there is a vibrant ecosystem being built on the XRP Ledger. It is growing by the day, and it won’t stay a “secret” for long, so you will want to find out about it while it is still early.
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This content is for educational purposes only. It does not constitute trading advice. Past performance does not indicate future results. Do not invest more than you can afford to lose. The author of this article may hold assets mentioned in the piece.
