What Is XRP? The Token, Ripple and Escrow Explained
Select what genuinely interests you. Your picks feed directly into our editorial planning. XRP is the native cryptocurrency of the XRP Ledger, a public blockchain that has been running since June 2012. All 100 billion XRP were created at launch, no new coins are ever issued, and every transaction destroys a small fee. Ripple, the US company, is not XRP but its largest holder: it keeps 31.4 billion XRP in time-locked escrow accounts and another 4.1 billion in freely available wallets. On October 21, 2026, one XRP cost $1.38, giving a market capitalisation of $87.3 billion and fifth place among all cryptocurrencies, according to CoinMarketCap.