XRP Ledger – How the Ripple Blockchain Works

XRP Ledger – Technology Behind Ripple's Blockchain

The XRP Ledger (XRPL) is an open-source, public blockchain launched in September 2012 by David Schwartz, Jed McCaleb, and Arthur Britto. Unlike Bitcoin and Ethereum, which rely on energy-intensive proof-of-work or proof-of-stake mechanisms, the XRP Ledger uses a unique Federated Consensus protocol to validate transactions.

In the Federated Consensus model, transactions are confirmed when a supermajority (80%+) of designated validators agree on the order and validity of transactions. The current network includes over 150 active validators operated by universities, crypto exchanges, businesses, and individual contributors worldwide.

The XRP Ledger settles transactions in just 3–5 seconds at a cost of a fraction of a cent. This makes it ideal for micropayments, cross-border remittances, and tokenization of real-world assets. The XRPL's built-in decentralized exchange allows direct peer-to-peer trading of XRP and other issued currencies.

In June 2025, an EVM-compatible sidechain launched on the XRPL, enabling Solidity-based smart contracts and DeFi applications with XRP as the gas token, connected via the Axelar bridge. This expansion opens the door for Ethereum developers to build on the XRP ecosystem while benefiting from the XRPL's speed and low costs.

Live XRP Market Data (March 2026)

Current Price	~$1.45 USD
24h Trading Volume	$2.8B+ USD
Market Cap	$88B+ USD
Global Rank	#4
Circulating Supply	~61.2 Billion XRP
All-Time High	$3.66 (July 2025)
Listed Exchanges	1,800+ Active Markets