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Cryptocurrencies are now commonplace, and some cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have become a household name. Other common cryptocurrencies are Litecoin, Ethereum, and even Ripple XRP. Launched in May 2020, it ranked 3rd in Coin Market's list of top 100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, but in March 2021, it ranked 7th. Many people refer to it as Ripple though, technically, Ripple is the name of its network and company while XRP is the name of the currency.

Introduction to Ripple

The idea for Ripple was first expressed by Ryan Fugger in 2004, but it was executed in 2012 by Jed McCaleb and Chris Larson when they took over the project. Ripple, the currency, runs on a digital payment network called RippleNet and is on top of an open-source distribution database known as XRP ledger. When it started trading in 2012, it started trading at $0.005 and at its highest in September 2018; it traded at $0.75.

Difference between other bitcoin and Ripple

There are some crucial differences between Ripple and Bitcoin. The first difference is that while Bitcoin operates on a blockchain ledger, Ripple operates on an open-source ledger. For transactions to be verified on Bitcoin's ledger, miners have to verify them through mining.

The fundamental difference between Ripple and Bitcoin and between most other cryptocurrencies is the fact that Ripple is not decentralized. In fact, Ripple is backed by some centralized institutions like Axis Bank and Santander as it helps them perform inter-institutional transactions at lower fees and favorable exchange rates.

Ripples performance in 2020

It's always advisable to start predictions by looking at the past. In January, the price of Ripple was $0.20 per coin. From then until mid-March, the price ranged between $0.15 and $0.32. When the pandemic hit, its price, just like the prices of other cryptocurrencies, crashed. Between September and the end of November, the price grew from $0.24 to $0.65. The expansion of Bitcoin saw a decline in the price of Ripple, and some legal issues exasperated this decline with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and it closed the year at $0.28.

Predictions for Ripple

Predictions about the future of Ripple are quite varied. Some predict that it could finally hit the $1 mark by the end of the year, while others have rather bleak outlooks.

• Capital.com

According to capital.com, things are looking rather grim for Ripple in 2021. Looking ahead to 2021, they predict that by the close of the year, the currency will be trading at around $0.3. They predict it may start of 2022 at $0.5, but it could eventually drop below the $0.1 level by August and end the year higher at $0.37. They predict it will come back to the $0.50 - $0.60 range in November 2025.

• Investing Haven

According to Investing Haven, they predict the Ripple forecast for 2021 is Bullish. According to their forecast, they predict that the price of Ripple could go up as high as $0.8 per coin, which will be higher than it has ever traded before. They predict that long term, Ripple will hit the $20 mark.

• Digitalcoin

Another website that has a positive prediction for Ripple is Digitalcoin, and it's not just for the year 2021. Looking ahead to 2021, they predict Ripple will trade at $0.70 in 2021, $0.80 in 2022, and continue rising. According to their predictions, they will cross the $1 mark in 2024 to trade at $1.15 and be trading at $2.17 in 2028.

• CoinPedia

According to CoinPedia, things are looking up for Ripple. Looking ahead to 2021, they predict that RippleNet technology will extend to many more countrie. They expect that business will double in 2021. Give a conservative prediction of $1.2 by the end of 2021, but they say that it could even be as high up as $2.

• Coinswitch

Like most other organizations offering price predictions, Coinswitch also sees a bright future ahead for Ripple. Looking ahead to 2021, they, like CoinPedia, predict Ripple might touch the $2 mark in 2021. Things only go up from there as according to their predictions, they expect Ripple to be around the $3 mark in 2023 and around $4.52 in 2025.

Pros and cons of Ripple

To understand Ripple better, it may be important to understand some pros and cons of the currency.

• Pros

1. Ripple has been embraced by many big institutions. When compared to other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, it has not faced as much resistance. It may be because it's designed to help these institutions to transfer money across borders faster and with fewer transactional costs.

2. Ripple transactions take a shorter time than other cryptocurrency transactions like Bitcoin. Where bitcoin transactions take 10 minutes, Ripple transactions take a few seconds. The primary reason is that Ripple coins do not need to be mined.

3. Ripple is a limited resource. Like other cryptocurrencies, there is a cap on how many ripple coins can be in circulation at any given point. This makes it a limited supply, and it can therefore be a hedge against inflation.

4. Ripple can convert to any currency. This quality makes institutions use and trust it.

• Cons

1. Ripples ledger is open source. This is unlike Bitcoin's blockchain ledger. For this reason, Ripple faces a higher chance of getting hacked than Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies that use blockchain.

2. Ripple is centralized. For most people, the greatest value of cryptocurrencies is that they are decentralized.

3. In most cases, anyone can mine and get Bitcoin. However, Ripple Labs owns 61% of all coins. This may deter some people from trusting it.

Conclusion

There are many cryptocurrencies in the crypto markets today. Ripple stands out from most of them for various reasons, the main ones being the fact that it is centralized, does not need mining, and that its transactions take seconds. While many people will try to pit Ripple against some fast-growing cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and say that it is falling behind, it should be noted that they are structurally different and are meant to serve different sectors. According to most predictions, the future for Ripple is very bright.

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