What is Ripple? What is XRP? A Complete Guide 2019 (https://www.coinspeaker.com/guides/what-ripple-xrp/)

Love it or hate it, there is no denying that XRP has caused waves in the broader cryptocurrency sphere. If you are at the point where you are wondering if Ripple is for you, then you actually might want to go over that chart at the beginning again. Having done that then, or already having decided that XRP is something that you are interested in, this article will forgo the long explanations and just jump directly into it’s purpose of explaining how to purchase XRP, how to store XRP, how to trade XRP, as well as some other common topics regarding XRP.

However before we get started please note, this article is not intended as financial advice (as I am not a financial advisor), nor is it meant as a statement either for or against the buying, selling, trading, hodling, or any other action you choose to partake in regarding the Ripple (XRP) project. Rather, this article is intended for purely unbiased informational purposes on how to go about doing certain things in regards to Ripple XRP – and yes – before you bash me in the comments, I am very aware that Ripple and XRP are very different entities. In other words, this article is merely intended in order to aid people when it comes to the mechanics of how to do certain things and not an endorsement of anything beyond that. For anyone out there that is a fan of the Ripple XRP project or interested in learning more it is my hope that this piece can provide some useful information for you to consider. On the other hand, for anyone that is not a fan of the Ripple project or the XRP token, maybe it’s best for you to just save yourself some time and the emotional turmoil of us both by moving on to another more general post which might better suit your informational needs such as the Best Places for Trading Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies in which I outline similar broader strategies without the mention of Ripple or the XRP token. With that out of the way then, for those of you that are still interested specifically in Ripple and it’s XRP token, lets hop on in and see if we can get you some useful information on how best to help you along your journey should you choose to continue or begin supporting the Ripple project and the XRP cryptocurrency community.

How to Purchase Ripple

Well, to be completely honest, I suspect that if you have enough money to purchase Ripple, you likely would not need this guide as to buy the Ripple company would not only be quite an expensive endeavor, but in so doing so would give you access to the 55 billion XRP locked in escrow. Now if you are talking about the cryptocurrency associated with the Ripple company and are interested in how to purchase XRP, then please do stick around and I’ll try to enlighten you as to the where’s and how’s to the best of my ability. Of course, everything in this article is not financial advice, so please do your own due diligence and make sure that you know that cryptocurrency can be a dangerous game and before getting into it, you understand the responsibility and risk involved.

Now although people may often ask about how to purchase ripple coin, please bear in mind as noted above that what they are really referring to is not how to get ripple coins but rather, how to purchase XRP Ripple with USD and other major currencies, purchase XRP Ripple with credit card, and trade or purchase XRP Ripple with other cryptocurrencies, which semantics aside will enable them to both support the Ripple project and XRP community by interacting in various ways with the XRP token. According to the official Ripple website then, there are at present 30 exchanges offering the above options regarding purchasing, trading, and selling XRP. Really that is the only way to go about investing in Ripple, as the amount of XRP was pre-mined and there is no other process like Bitcoin or Ethereum regarding mining or how to farm Ripple coin. Due to the vastness of possibilities then, please note that this piece will be a general overview of some of these options, so for those of you that have more interest in the others due to your own personal preferences or jurisdictions, for a complete list of those with minimal mention please see here.

Where to Purchase Ripple with USD and Other Major Currencies

Again, it is not actually possible to purchase Ripple per se, so what you will be purchasing in reality is XRP as noted on the official Ripple website XRP Buying Guide which actually does a great job of outlining not only the USD options, but other major fiat options as well. Although this list is not entirely complete, the most popular options for getting some XRP with fiat include Bitstamp, CEX.io, & Bitsane (USD, EUR), Bittrex & Uphold (USD), Kraken (USD, EUR, CAD, JPY), SBI Virtual Currencies, Coincheck, & Bitbank (JPY), Coinfield (USD, CAD, GBP, EUR), Independent Reserve (AUD, NZD), and Gatehub (USD, JPY, CNY, EUR).

In addition to these options, Huobi Global went live with XRP OTC pairings from 24 different fiat currencies from around the world on March 6th, 2019. So, for those of you not using the currencies listed above as your main fiat in daily life, it might be worth checking out Huobi Global OTC Markets to check if there is a sell offer or place a buy offer in the currency you desire.

How to Purchase Ripple Cryptocurrency (with Credit Card)

Although I don’t personally use credit cards to purchase cryptocurrencies due to the fees involved, at this time it is possible to get XRP on Binance, Binance Jersey, KuCoin, Huobi Global, CEX.io, Coinmama, and CoinSwitch among other places. For a deeper understanding on CoinSwitch please see my previous article Best Places for Trading Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies. In regards to the other mainstream exchanges, the process is pretty simple and the fee seems to be about 5% of the total cost. It’s worth noting here as well that Coinmama also offers the option to purchase XRP with debit card and SEPA transfer.

How to Purchase Ripple XRP Using Other Cryptocurrency Pairs

Likely the least expensive way to acquire some XRP tokens is to trade on exchanges for other crypto currencies and stable coins. Although exchanges do sometimes require ‘trading fees’, these in general are far less than that of the credit card option listed above. According to Coin Market Cap XRP Markets page, there are presently 387 crypto pairing across a variety of exchanges listed. Noting this, likely the safest place to buy ripple with other cryptocurrencies is the exchanges you are already familiar with and trust. Due to this rational, I will not go into all the exchanges and pairings available, but rather only discuss those I trust the most in regards to how to trade Ripple – or rather, as we have previously discovered – how to trade XRP.

In my opinion then, the best place to trade XRP is likely Binance. The reason for this is mainly because Binance has not only a dedicated XRP pairing section, but also a very extensive stable coin list on their exchange likely giving the greatest amount of options of any exchange when it comes to where to buy and where to sell ripple for other crypto currencies. Although in time I expect many more pairings to become actualized, at present Binance offers XRP pairings with BTC (Bitcoin), ETH (Ethereum), BNB (Binance Coin), TRX (Tron), XZC (Zcoin), and PAX, TUSD, USDC, and USDT stable coins. In addition, by holding a little BNB token on the exchange the trading fees will be reduced, so if you plan on placing multiple orders with XRP and other cryptos, it’s recommended that you get at least a little BNB to keep on the platform so you can take full advantage of this. In order to take advantage of these markets then, really the only requirement is to sign up for Binance if you are already not a member and transfer your desired crypto currency to the exchange to start trading.

Another really good market for XRP pairings that I think most people miss is Coss.io. Pairing wise XRP can be traded for BTC, ETH, USDT, ARK, GUSD, USDC, TUSD, OMG, NEO, LTC (Litecoin), LSK (Lisk), EOS, and DASH. In addition Coss.io also acts as a fiat gateway for crypto as well, however please note that liquidity for the exchange is much lower than other mainstream exchanges like Binance, so day trading on Coss might not be the easiest or the most profitable.

KuCoin also offers some decent pairings for those of you that are not aware. Using KuCoin it is possible to trade XRP with BTC, ETH, KCS (KuCoins native token KuCoin Shares), NEO, and the USDT, PAX, TUSD stable coins. Much as in the case of Binance, holding KCS on the platform will also aid in the reduction of trading fees for the regular user.

How to Store XRP

To begin with, in regards to where to store Ripple XRP, as is the recommendation with just about any cryptocurrency, it cannot be stressed enough that one should never choose any exchange, no matter how trustworthy, to store their digital assets long term. Another thing to note when it comes to XRP is unlike other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum, XRP requires a minimum wallet balance, or wallet creation fee of 20 XRP. Although many people complain that this is crazy as crypto should be free, there are some advantages to this as it cuts down on spam and multiple accounts by single users. I’ll leave the vote to the individual user on this one, but essentially to move your XRP off the exchange into a wallet, you will have to play by this rule. If you have a serious problem with this then please spare me the complaints and just find something that jives with your personal crypto morality code as there are plenty of other options in the crypto sphere.

Another thing to note regarding the storage of XRP is that on the main Ripple website FAQ page, it is explicitly stated that “Ripple doesn’t endorse, recommend, or make any representations with respect to digital wallets. It’s advisable to always conduct your own due diligence before trusting your money to any third party or third-party technology.” (https://ripple.com/faq/)

In this regard then, although I cannot officially recommend any wallet in which to store your XRP tokens offline, I can enlighten you on the wallets that others seem to trust. Please be aware that all any of us can do is as the Ripple website states and make our own decisions regarding where to store XRP and other assets.

Digital Wallets Supporting XRP

Ledger Nano Wallet is a hardware wallet that allows you to store and keep your XRP private keys offline and safe. Always be sure to purchase your Ledger Nano wallet direct and not from a third party via Amazon, Rakuten, E-Bay to ensure greatest security. Find out more information about the Ledger Nano S and the more recent Ledger Nano X here. Another popular choice when it come to hardware wallets also offering XRP support is Trezor. Both these products are constantly improving and updating their products to not only improve security, but also support, interoperability, and overall user experience.

Toast Wallet is a “free open source XRP Wallet for iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, and Linux”. With a really simple interface, a PIN login, backup recovery feature, and multi device compatibility allowing use on all devices at once, it’s easy to see why it is rated so highly by the community as the go to XRP exclusive downloadable wallet choice.

“Exarpy is currently an interface that allows you to receive and transfer funds from a Ripple warm-wallet. As an interface, [they] do not personally store or hold onto your funds (like a bank would)… only provide a user-friendly application for interacting directly with the Ripple network.” The Exarpy wallet can be accessed from anywhere with an Internet browser connection and charges a 0.0025 XRP transaction fee, Ripple network transaction fee included.

Ripple XRP Paper Wallet Beta also offers cold storage solutions for address generation and XRP token cold storage. Although I have not personally funded an account, the process on how to use Ripple XRP paper wallets seems rather straight forward. Simply follow the link, generate and print a paper wallet with public address and private key text, and then fund the account with the minimum Base (20 XRP) and Owner (5 XRP) Reserves required to perform transactions. If anyone has tried it, let me know in the comments as I’d be curious to know your feelings on the paper wallet stacked up to your expectations regarding how to store ripple offline (or rather XRP).

The Exodus desktop wallet available from Exodus.io also has XRP token support amongst its various Ethereum and non Ethereum token list. It also offers XRP in the list of tokens that can be utilized in the internal atomic swap exchange, so it is also possible to acquire or trade it from completely within the Exodus interface. Offering an easy to navigate interface, atomic swaps, and regular updates, Exodus really seems to be a fan favorite for desktop wallets within the broader crypto community.

Trust “multicoin wallet app supports all of the main blockchains within the Ethereum ecosystem, and works with any ERC20, ERC721 and ERC223 tokens” as well as other assets such as bitcoin and XRP as well. Trust wallet is available for download for via the App Store, Google Play, and APK Android direct from the link above.

Guarda is a multi currency wallet with web, desktop, mobile, and Chrome extension versions allowing users to to easily receive, store, send and exchange XRP and supported crypto currency coins. Check out the Guarda Ripple wallet page for an excellent and more specific details on the Ripple project, XRP coin, and Guarda Ripple wallet advantages and support. Other notable features are the anonymity to swap assets without verification or KYC as well as the long term non storage of data and keys like other wallets, as these are held in a secure memory and deleted every time the wallet is logged out of.

How to Purchase Ripple Stock

According to David Schwartz, the CTO at Ripple, “If you really do want to buy Ripple stock and you qualify as a sophisticated investor under US law, you can. The most common way to qualify as a sophisticated investor is to demonstrate that you have at least $1 million in assets not including equity in your primary residence. If you meet this requirement, you can contact secondary markets like EquityZen and SharesPost.” It’s interesting to note that in this tread he goes on to note that one should be aware that because Ripple is not a publicly traded company “it is likely that the person selling shares to you has inside information about the company that you will not have. You will have to sign a release that you accept this risk and this is permitted under US law for privately held companies. You do not get the protections investors typically get when buying stock and are presumed to know what you’re doing.”

Until next time, enjoy and stay safe! Your Trybalist in creative arms, Jimmy D

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Jimmy D is a verified member of CryptoPilots, a community devoted to Quality Content in Crypto. Find me also on TRYBE.ONE, Minds.com, PublishOx, Twitter, Jimmy D Presents Facebook Group, and Murmur (kansaikrypto).