What is XRP
XRP is the coin of the XRP Ledger, launched in 2012 by David Schwartz, Jed McCaleb and Arthur Britto. The network was built for fast, cheap international payments: a transfer confirms in 3–5 seconds and costs a fraction of a cent. The XRP Ledger is closely associated with Ripple, a company offering cross-border settlement solutions to banks and payment providers.
Unlike Bitcoin, the XRP Ledger has no mining. New entries are added to the ledger through a consensus protocol: independent validators agree on the order of transactions. All 100 billion XRP were created when the network launched, and a small fee on every transaction is burned, so the total supply slowly decreases over time.
Key facts
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Ticker | XRP |
| Network at ROVEN exchange | XRP Ledger (mainnet) |
| Address format | Starts with “r”, 25–35 characters |
| Speed | Confirmation in 3–5 seconds |
| Network fee | A fraction of a cent, burned |
| Destination Tag | Required when sending to exchanges and swap services |
What XRP is used for
- International transfers. XRP moves value between countries within seconds.
- Moving funds between exchanges. Fast, cheap transactions make XRP a convenient “transport”.
- Payment solutions. A number of financial companies use the XRP Ledger for settlements.
- Investment. XRP is among the largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalisation.
How to exchange XRP at ROVEN exchange
- Choose a direction, for example XRP → USDT TRC20 or USDT TRC20 → XRP, and enter the amount.
- If you’re receiving XRP, enter an address starting with “r”. If it’s an exchange address, be sure to fill in the memo field — the Destination Tag your exchange shows in its deposit section.
- Create the order — the rate is locked for 30 minutes. When paying in XRP, copy both the address and the Destination Tag from the order.
- XRP Ledger transfers confirm within seconds, so a swap usually takes a few minutes.
What to watch out for
- When paying an order, the Destination Tag is mandatory: it’s how the operator finds your transfer on the shared address.
- A Destination Tag consists of digits only — don’t add letters or spaces.
- Activating a new XRP Ledger address requires keeping a small minimum reserve of XRP on it. A very small transfer to a new address may fail.
- The reserve can’t be spent while the account exists, so a wallet’s available balance is slightly lower than its total.
The XRP Ledger account reserve
To protect the network from spam, the XRP Ledger requires every account to hold a minimum XRP reserve. An account is created by its first incoming transfer that covers this reserve. That’s why exchanges and swap services usually use one shared address and tell customers apart by Destination Tag instead of creating a new account for each. If you’re setting up your own XRP wallet for the first time, factor the reserve into your first deposit.
How to store XRP
XRP has dedicated wallets such as Xaman (formerly Xumm), and it’s also supported by Trust Wallet and the Ledger and Trezor hardware wallets. You don’t need a Destination Tag for your personal wallet. Keep your seed phrase or secret key offline and never enter it on third-party sites.
Frequently asked questions
What happens if I send XRP to an exchange without a Destination Tag?
The funds arrive at the exchange’s shared address but aren’t credited automatically. You’ll have to contact support with the transaction hash, which can take time.
Do I need a tag to send XRP to my own wallet?
No. A personal wallet belongs only to you, and the XRP will arrive without a tag.
How long does an XRP transfer take?
The transaction confirms in 3–5 seconds. The whole swap, including the operator’s check, usually takes a few minutes.