XRP Project Introduction

XRP is the native digital currency of the XRP Ledger (XRPL) launched by Ripple Labs in 2012. It is a decentralized open-source blockchain platform that supports the trading and settlement of various assets, aiming to achieve fast and efficient cross-border payments. Unlike Bitcoin’s proof of work, XRPL uses the Ripple Consensus Protocol, where a network of independent validators reaches consensus every 3 to 5 seconds, enabling fast transaction confirmation and providing banks and financial institutions with faster and lower-cost cross-border payment solutions.

It is important to note that XRP is pre-mined, which means all 100 billion tokens were created at launch, and Ripple Labs regularly sells its holdings of XRP to enhance market liquidity and support ecosystem development. Overall, the design of XRP and the XRP Ledger aims to provide an efficient, scalable payment solution, particularly well-suited for cross-border transactions requiring fast settlement and low transaction costs.

XRP token symbol (Image source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations）

Related Links:

Official website entrance:https://ripple.com/

White Paper:https://xrpl.org/docs

Github:https://github.com/XRPLF/

X (Twitter):https://x.com/Ripple

Telegram:https://t.me/Ripple

Xrpscan:https://xrpscan.com/

Trading Entrance:https://www.gate.io/en/trade/XRP_USDT

XRP founding team

Brad Garlinghouse

Ripple’s CEO, also a member of the board of directors. Prior to joining Ripple, he served as the CEO of file collaboration service Hightail, President of Consumer Applications at AOL, and held multiple executive positions at Yahoo.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse (Image source:https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradgarlinghouse/）

Chris Larsen

Co-founder and executive chairman of Ripple and an advisor to Distilled Analytics, a data science company. Prior to founding Ripple, he was also the CEO of Prosper, a P2P lending service company, and the CEO of E-LOAN, an online lending service company.

Ripple co-founder and executive chairman Chris Larsen (Image source: https://regulationinnovation.org/podcast）

David Schwartz

Currently the Chief Technology Officer of Ripple, one of the original architects of the XRP Ledger, often referred to as ‘JoelKatz’, and highly respected in the cryptocurrency community. Previously, he was the Chief Technology Officer of WebMaster Incorporated, a software developer in Santa Clara, and also developed encrypted cloud storage and enterprise messaging systems for organizations such as CNN and the National Security Agency (NSA).

Ripple Chief Technology Officer David Schwartz (Image Source:https://www.rootdata.com/en/member/Chris）

XRP Ledger Features

Consensus mechanism: Adopting Federated Consensus, which enables faster transaction speed and lower energy consumption;

Transaction speed: average 3-5 seconds to confirm a transaction, much faster than traditional blockchains such as Bitcoin and Ethereum;

Low transaction cost: The cost of a single transaction is usually less than 0.0002 XRP, suitable for large-scale financial payments;

Decentralization: XRPL is now operated by multiple independent validator nodes and is not controlled by a single entity;

Smart Contract Support: XRPL supports basic smart contract functionality through Hooks and XLS-20.

Ripple vs. XRP vs. XRP Ledger Comparison (Image Source: https://trustwallet.com/blog/blockchain/Ripple-vs-XRP-vs-XRP-Ledger)

$XRP On-chain Data

In the past three months, XRPL on-chain trading volume has experienced cyclical fluctuations, and the overall trading volume has remained in the range of 2M-4M transactions. At the beginning of December 2024, XRPL trading volume quickly climbed to a stage high, peaking at nearly 4M transactions; Since mid-December, the trading volume has fallen and entered a relatively stable period, with the trading volume remaining between 2M-3M most of the time, showing the stable operation of market trading demand.

The number of transactions executed on the XRPL chain in the past three months (Image Source:https://xrpscan.com/metrics）

On the other hand, the number of new accounts activated on the XRP Ledger is also showing a downward trend in cyclical fluctuations, despite brief rebounds at certain points in time. In early December 2024, the number of new accounts sharply increased to nearly 30K, possibly related to the increase in XRP ecosystem activities or exchange support; from mid-December to early January 2025, the market heat gradually subsided, user growth slowed down, and it has now entered a relatively stable period.

The number of new accounts activated by XRPL in the past three months (image source:https://xrpscan.com/metrics)

The price trend of $XRP

XRP has been in a volatile downward phase lately, with prices fluctuating in the $2.17 - $2.20 range. On February 16, XRP had a brief rally, but failed to break above the upper resistance level; It is worth noting that during the period of large price fluctuations in $XRP, the trading volume has also been amplified, which has put the market in a state dominated by selling pressure, which may be that Bitcoin and Ethereum have also seen a sharp pullback recently, and the market sentiment is more cautious, which has affected the XRP trend.

As of February 28th (UTC+0) when this article was written, the latest price of $XRP is $2.18, with a total circulation market value of $217.36 billion and 6.216 million holding addresses. The market is still in the stage of digesting selling pressure, and investors should remain cautious and pay attention to further market signals.

02/21 - 02/28 period $XRP trend (Chart Source:https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/shiba-inu/）

$XRP Price Prediction

It is expected that in the short term, XRP will fluctuate between $2.00 and $2.50, maintaining a low-level oscillation; in May 2025, XRP may experience a breakthrough surge, with the price rising to around $3.00 and testing new highs. On the other hand, the confidence interval still maintains an upward trend, showing that the market still holds an optimistic attitude towards the long-term trend of XRP. If Bitcoin and the overall cryptocurrency market enter a bull market cycle, XRP may experience even greater gains.

$XRP price trend AI model prediction (Image source:https://cryptopriceperdiction-isshiliu.streamlit.app/）

Conclusion

Despite the recent market correction, XRP’s position as a mainstream cross-border payment asset remains solid. Judging from the growth of the XRPL ecosystem, the market still maintains confidence in the long-term value of XRP. In the future, if the macro environment improves and institutional funds flow in, XRP may usher in a new round of upward cycle, with a target price potentially surpassing $3.00, or even higher. Currently, there is still a price adjustment risk for this currency in the short term. It is recommended that investors closely monitor the key support levels and market signals of XRP and allocate assets reasonably based on their own risk tolerance.