Bitcoin may be one of the biggest stories in the cryptocurrency world but did you know that Ripple XRP coin is still one of the fastest-growing cryptos in the world? In 2017, when everyone was talking about the phenomenal growth of Bitcoin, Ripple actually had a much better performance with gains of up to 35,000%. That was by far the largest rally ever seen in the financial industry. In the first quarter of 2019, Ripple sold $169.42 million in XPR, the highest quarterly sum ever sold by the company.
In this article, we take a quick look at Ripple and discuss which cryptocurrency exchanges hold the most XRP where you can buy and trade in the Ripple coin.
So, What is Ripple?
Unlike banks or other centralized authorities, Ripple was founded by the creation of a distributed ledger network to validate transactions between holders and traders of the cryptocurrency. The payment network that links banks and other institutions to Ripple is known as RippleNet.
It is the tool that makes it possible to transfer digital assets and money via the decentralized XRP ledger. To make things clear, XRP is the cryptocurrency while Ripple refers to the company and its transaction processing system.
XRP is the digital asset or coin that is used in all RippleNet transactions. It was designed to lower costs and time spent in global transactions involving Ripple. The RippleNet system is highly efficient and works extremely fast. It can easily process 1,500 transactions in a second and takes just 4 seconds to complete a transaction in RippleNet.
If you compare the speed and efficiency of RippleNet with, for example, Ethereum, which takes two minutes to transfer, or Bitcoin which takes 1 hour, or even the 5-day wait in traditional banking systems, you’ll see why Ripple has become quite popular today.
Top Cryptocurrency Exchanges That Hold XRP
If you want to buy Ripple and feel intimidated by the process, you’ll be glad to know that there are many fiat exchanges such as Coinbase that allow you to buy and trade in XRP. In many exchanges you can easily purchase XRP using fiat currency or popular cryptos such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Some exchanges allow you to buy XRP using your local currency or through peer-to-peer services such as LocalBitcoins and exchanges such as Bitstamp. If you have BTC you can send it to many exchanges where XRP is traded and proceed with your trade or investment.
Here are some of the best Ripple exchanges where you can buy and sell XRP.
- IO
This is one of the easiest to use exchanges with many buy/sell options for a wide range of pairs including XRP/USD, XRP/BTC, and XRP/EUR among others. You can buy XRP using fiat currency. CEX.IO is located in the UK but serves customers from all over the world. It is also a safe place to store your XRP because they have offline cold storage and provide users with 2-factor authentication for additional security. The platform also provides cross-platform trading through Android and iOS mobile apps, website, Rest API, and WebSocket. Their fees are however on the higher side with basic charges for trading set at 0.2% while credit cards and bank account withdrawals are charged 3.5% and an additional $0.25 or GBP 0.20 per transaction.
- Binance
Binance is another popular cryptocurrency exchange where you can buy or sell XRP. However, you are not allowed to fund your account with fiat currency but can only purchase XRP using other cryptocurrencies. They don’t have a limit for deposits and don’t even charge deposit fees. You can easily deposit BTC and buy XRP at Binance.
Binance provides customers with two trading options, namely Basic and Advanced. The only major difference between the two options is the fact that the Advanced View gives more detailed technical analysis to help you make more informed decisions when trading. Binance charges a low flat fee of just 0.1% on each trade done on their platform.
- Changelly
Changelly is another exchange where you can buy and sell XRP easily using USD or cryptocurrency coins such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. You can even make your XRP purchases using credit and debit cards. It is an easy to use platform especially for those who are new to cryptocurrency trading.
Changelly doesn’t hold your cryptos. You must have a Ripple wallet to store your coins. They also charge a 0.5% fixed fee regardless of the amount you transact. Changelly has a fast trading system that takes just a few seconds to complete.
- Kraken
This San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange serves customers from all over North America with the exception of New York. It is a safe and reliable company with a solid reputation for preventing major hacking attempts. They are also famous for offering users a wide range of markets including BTC, ETH, XRP, USD, and EUR among others.
You can trade crypto and fiat currencies on Kraken, including XRP. They allow deposits and withdrawals in fiat currencies including USD, CAD, EUR, GBP, and JPY. The currency payments are done via bank transfer. The system also supports bank accounts in the European Economic Area and accepts the SEPA payment system.
Kraken provides two account options – basic and advanced. Keep in mind that you’ll need to provide your full name, address, phone number, and date of birth to open a basic account. You’ll also need to go through additional verification steps to open an advanced account. Each digital coin has its own transfer fee at Kraken. Deposit is free for Ripple.
Other popular cryptocurrency exchanges where you can trade in XRP include HitBTC, Bitso, Gatehub, Qryptos, and of course Coinbase.
Conclusion
Ripple XRP is one of the fastest growing cryptocurrencies today. It is traded on most platforms besides the ones covered above. Since supply is never constant and keeps on changing based on the amount of XRP traded every day, you can easily dig deeper on some of the best cryptocurrency exchanges available today to find the one with the most XRP as well as low fees and ease of trading.
