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Bitcoin is feeling the pressure from another cryptocurrency hot on it’s heels. Ripple has attracted tens of millions of dollars worth of investment leading to it being dubbed the bitcoin that banks like. The company uses block chain technology, powered by its own cryptocurrency, to send money across the world in real time settlements, according to the company’s CEO Brad Garlinghouse. It does not hold the level of anonymity that bitcoin does, which makes the currency more favourable to banks.

CNBC•GETTY Bitcoin price threat: Ripple is serious competition for Bitcoin

A lot of the banks are very excited about democratising how these global payments flow Brad Garlinghouse

Speaking on CNBC, Garlinghouse explained: “Ripple sells a blockchain technology to banks and payment providers and other financial institutions to do real-time settlement between banks. “So today if you wanted to send $10,000 to London right now, the fastest way for her to do that is to drive to Newark or JFK and fly it there.”= “Our view is in a world of the internet when you can stream video from the space station, you should be able to do real-time settlement between banks we sell the technology to banks to do that.” Ripple is a protocol that allows the participant to have a "ledger" of decentralised operations but is still certified by some large nodes of the Network, such as telephone operators or academic institutions, like MIT.

This certification has lead to ripple doubling in price during the last week of December. Banks are taking notice of Ripple, with over 100 banks around the world using the blockchain, according to Garlinghouse. He said: “We have over 100 banks working with Ripple today around the world. “I think the vast majority of banks, like 99.9 percent of banks actually are paying other banks, the global money sender banks like JP Morgan or Citibank to make those settlements.