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Ripple was launched by San Francisco-based Ripple Labs Inc. in 2012. The heart of the system is the Ripple blockchain, XRPL, which relies upon a unique Proof of History consensus mechanism for validating transactions.

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It is XRPL that makes it possible to validate Ripple transactions in an average of three to five seconds. XRPL scales up to 1,500 transactions per second – that’s 100 times more than Ethereum.

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The average cost per transaction is just 0.0002 euros.

 \n And the PoH consensus mechanism consumes a tiny fraction of the electricity used by Proof of Work blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum.

 \n Ripple Labs says Ripple is a real-time gross settlement system, currency exchange, and remittance network.

It’s that last phrase that is most telling. Ripple started as a platform for international remittances.

## About Remittances

Every day, thousands of people leave their families to seek work in richer countries. They promise to send cash back when they find work.

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The cash they send back is called a remittance in the financial world.

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Remittances are big business. According to market researchers, global remittances added up to €669.7 billion in 2020. The market is expected to grow to €1.17 trillion by 2030.

In the fiat world, remittances are handled by banks and by money-transfer services like Western Union. Remittances are slow, expensive, or both.

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Ripple is an attractive alternative, supporting instant transfers at virtually no charge. Ripple accepts local currency, converts it to XRP, transmits it internationally, and exchanges it for the recipient’s local currency for disbursement – all in a matter of seconds.

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It wasn’t long before established remittance companies and currency-transfer services began inquiring about replacing their slow, expensive international networks with XRPL. Those companies are now Ripple’s biggest customers. Banks, savings and loans, and international corporations use Ripple technology to move funds quickly and inexpensively across borders.

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The XRP cryptocurrency is central to Ripple’s business model because it runs on the ultra-fast XRPL blockchain, allowing transactions to be settled in seconds regardless of how many international borders are crossed along the way.

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Today, dozens of application developers are targeting the XRPL platform – either the public blockchain or private blockchains based on XRPL’s open-source code – to create decentralized finance applications and other apps that benefit from instant transactions and low fees.

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Because of its efficiency and its support of advanced development tools, Ripple has emerged as a rival to Ethereum as a platform for blockchain-based applications. Ripple is especially strong in the field of decentralized finance, or DeFi.

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That, in turn, has made Ripple attractive to investors, especially those who believe blockchain technology will play a key technical role in the Web3 ecosystem.

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**Here’s a quick overview and a few tips on __[where and how to buy Ripple (XRP)](https://kriptomat.io/cryptocurrencies/xrp/how-to-buy-xrp/?invite_code=hackernoon)__.**

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## Where to buy Ripple (XRP)

Plenty of cryptocurrency exchanges and other platforms are happy to sell Ripple coins to buyers and investors. Unfortunately, this large number of sales sites makes choosing a platform one of the most difficult – and important – tasks when you are figuring out how to buy Ripple.

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Most exchanges – especially the decentralized exchanges, or DEXs, that have gained so much attention in the crypto community over the past year or two – cater to the same relatively small audience of experienced crypto buyers, technology experts who are comfortable selecting a cold wallet for off-chain storage, securing hexadecimal cryptographic keys, and interacting with the blockchain network directly.

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As time has passed, more and more new investors and new crypto owners have become interested in buying XRP and other cryptocurrencies for the first time. The expert-only platforms don’t provide the security, tools, and help that would allow those users to invest successfully. The platforms are great solutions for computer-science grads and blockchain experts. They’re great solutions for digital insiders. For the rest of us? Not so much.

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For most users, a DEX is not the best answer to the question of where to buy Ripple. If you don’t speak Python as your native language, you’d be better off creating an account at a custodial crypto platform like Kriptomat.

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Custodial platforms are easy to use. They provide __[the current Ripple price](https://kriptomat.io/cryptocurrency-prices/xrp-price/?invite_code=hackernoon)__ and a chance to make a purchase. If you are new to the blockchain world and you would like to buy XRP coins, Kriptomat is a great choice.

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You will quickly learn that creating an account is a bit more complicated than defining your user name and password.

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One way you know that you are working with a reputable crypto exchange is that it will require you to verify your identity by providing an electronic copy of your government-issued ID – your passport or driving license. These Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations are required by every business that complies with the anti-money laundering provisions of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, a set of rules to help keep consumers safe and secure on the internet.

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Identity verification can take hours or days at most crypto sites. At Kriptomat, the simple KYC procedures can be completed in seconds and verified in minutes.

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You start by typing your address and uploading a high-resolution image of your government-issued photo ID. Kriptomat guides you through the creation of a selfie – a photograph of you that matches the photo on your ID. In most cases, identity is verified within a few minutes.

## How to buy Ripple

Once your account is verified, you can move on to the next steps in your how-to-buy XRP journey.

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Most buyers say the fastest and easiest way to acquire Ripple (XRP) is to use a Visa or Mastercard. Simply choose Buy from the menu and follow the instructions on your screen. You will find XRP in your Kriptomat wallet in seconds.

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If you prefer, you can transfer your investing fund to Kriptomat with a SEPA wire transfer from your bank or by employing a money-transfer service like Neteller or Skrill. Don’t worry about exchanging funds – Kriptomat accepts deposits in more than a dozen of the most widely used European fiat currencies.

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Once your deposit shows up in your account, you can simply follow the instructions on your screen and make a Ripple purchase.

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That’s all you need to know. You are now an expert at the fine art of how to buy XRP.

## The bottom line

The most important decision you make is choosing where to buy Ripple. As you evaluate crypto platforms, be sure to take licensing and regulation, security, investment tools, ease of use, and customer support into account. Naturally, you’ll want to choose a site where you can execute transactions in your own language.

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And remember, you don’t get any physical Ripple coins when you buy XRP. The coins you purchase are transferred to your electronic address on the blockchain and the balance is displayed in your account. Kriptomat handles all the details of public-key encryption to ensure that your crypto is transferred promptly and remains secure.

## About Kriptomat

Founded in 2018, Kriptomat revolutionized the cryptocurrency world with the introduction of the simplest platform in Europe. Kriptomat makes digital finance so simple that everybody everywhere can access the freedom, fairness, and fulfillment that crypto represents.  Hundreds of thousands of customers across Europe and in 120 countries worldwide trust Kriptomat when they buy, sell, swap, earn, share, and invest in crypto.

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