Ripple (XRP) Price Predictions for 2020, 2025 and 2050.

Ripple (XRP)
Current price: US$1.06
Market cap: US$8.8 billion
CoinMarketCap ranking: #4
Circulating supply: 38.6 billion XRP

A Truly Divisive Altcoin

Depending on who you ask, you can gain vastly different impressions of Ripple (XRP). Some people view it as the future of banking, set to revolutionise the way we send and receive currency – both fiat and crypto. On the other hand, there are many people who think Ripple should burn in eternal damnation for helping banks get a foothold in the crypto world. These folks seem to have an ideological belief that banks are public enemy number 1, nothing but centralised, oppressive money prisons, full of fat cats in suits and the source of the world’s financial problems.

If you are an ideological investor, read no further. Ripple is not for you. If, however, you are just in this game to make profit, do have a read onwards and see if XRP takes your fancy.

Ripple is a company, a blockchain, a payment protocol and a cryptocurrency.The company was founded in 2012 in San Francisco and has over 200 employees. Their key offering is the Ripple Transaction Network. This is a payment protocol built upon their own blockchain which allows interbank payments to take place extremely quickly and cheaply. The whole idea behind Ripple is to enable “secure, instant and nearly free global financial transactions of any size, with no chargebacks”.

Ripple’s Transaction Network is a form of real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system. RTGS systems are usually operated by a country's central bank and are seen as critical infrastructure for a country's economy. RTGS systems do not require any physical exchange of money. When a customer of Bank A wishes to make a payment to a customer of Bank B, the central bank makes adjustments in the electronic accounts of Bank A and Bank B, reducing the balance in Bank A's account by the amount in question and increasing the balance of Bank B's account by the same amount. Traditional RTGS systems have their limitations – they are expensive and they are slow. Because the central bank cannot immediately confirm that the customer from Bank A truly has the funds required to pay the customer of Bank B, it can require a day or two for transactions to be confirmed. There is also a risk that something could happen to the money while it is in this holding pattern – the transaction could be tampered with for example.

The Ripple Transaction Network does a similar thing, but by utilising the power of blockchain its transactions are almost immediate, almost free and completely reliable. Ripple’s network can process 1000 per second. Yes, per second. As a comparison, Ethereum can process 15 per second. Also, all transactions are perfectly logged on the Ripple blockchain Ledger and are therefore tamper-proof and immutable. Ripple’s payment protocol is being touted as a next generation RTGS system, and so far banks and financial institutions are lapping it up.

Many of you may be wondering how a coin which divides the community so much could have become a top 5 coin. Well, there is a very good reason for this. All we need to do is look at the potential of the company and the immense size of market it is entering in to.

Going International

The dollar value of non-cash payments that occurs internationally is utterly mind boggling. According to BCG Perspectives, banks handled US$410 trillion of non-cash payments globally in 2013. This number is estimated to increase to $780 trillion in 2023. We also need to look at foreign exchange transactions which also use RTGS systems – in 2014 there were approximately US$5.1 trillion worth of foreign exchange transactions which took place per day. Yes, you read that right – $5.1 trillion every single day. Currently, While we can’t expect Ripple to become the administrator of all of these transactions, even if it got a slice of the pie Ripple would be absolutely set.

Does it even have a chance? Potentially, yes.

There are currently over 100 financial institutions internationally who are working with Ripple to implement their payment protocol. This includes American Express, Santandar, MUFJ, and closer to home, Westpac and ANZ. It also includes a consortium of Japanese banks which completed a successful pilot program to make it the first country in the world to enable domestic and international real time money transfers via the cryptocurrency.

Japan is crucial to Ripple’s long term plans and prospects there are looking good. XRP is now considered legal tender in the country. As it can be exchanged for material goods and services, this means that it has the potential to achieve nationwide acceptance. It also gives XRP instant liquidity via exchange with fiat through banks. With a GDP of $6.11 trillion, if Ripple can become responsible for even a quarter of Japan’s nationwide transaction volume it would be handling roughly US$1.5 trillion annually in Japan alone. Other countries have opened their arms to XRP too, including India and the UAE. It is early days for Ripple in India with only a few banks who have signed up, however the UAE are already using Ripple for cross-border payments and its use could soon extend into other Middle Eastern countries such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Where Does XRP Come In?

I want to spend a quick word on the actual cryptocurrency XRP. At the moment, the Ripple Transaction Network can function without the use of XRP. Fiat money can be transferred across its payment protocol. Ripple have said themselves that down the line they will aim to have XRP used as the medium for all domestic and international transfers, however, whether banks buy into this or not is another question. Ripple have set up a program which is designed to accelerate the uptake of XRP, which is similar to what Visa did in their early days. Ripple won’t just give banks XRP, they’ll be incentivised to use it and be granted XRP if they comply with those incentives. Despite this, banks still have the option to use USD. If banks refused to use XRP and instead stuck with fiat, I can only see that Ripple the company will become immense, but the currency has no significant reason to grow with it.

Another point worth recognising about XRP is that Ripple owns around 60% of it. This is why XRP haters call it a centralised cryptocurrency - the majority of it is held by one main institution. With these stores Ripple gradually sell off XRP back to the public, which is how they are currently staying cash flow positive and they use this money to fund further development of their network.

WARNING: Moon Talk Ahead

At this point, let’s run a few numbers just for fun. Keep in mind that this is pure speculation, but it could give us an idea of how big Ripple could go.

Scenario 1. Let’s assume that in 2020:
• XRP ends up accounting for the total exchange volume of 30% of Japan’s GDP (~$1.5 trillion), 20% of UAE’s GDP (~$0.074 trillion) and 15% of India’s GDP (~$0.31 trillion)
• All transactions are done using XRP
• Maximum XRP supply remains at 100 billion
• No other countries adopt XRP
• No major events which remove market confidence in Ripple

If this is the case, Ripple’s market cap would be $1.884 trillion and each XRP coin would be worth $18.84c.

Scenario 2. Assume that in 2025:
• XRP ends up accounting for 5% of the world’s GDP (estimated $95 trillion)
• Again, all transactions are done using XRP, maximum supply remains the same and no catastrophic events remove market confidence in Ripple

If this is the case, Ripple’s market cap would be $4.75 trillion and each XRP coin would be worth $47.5.

Scenario 3. The beyond moon, beyond the Milky Way scenario. Assume that in 2050:
• XRP accounts for 50% of the world’s GDP (estimated $182 trillion)
• Again, all transactions are done using XRP, maximum supply remains the same and no catastrophic events remove market confidence in Ripple

If this is the case, Ripple’s market cap would be $18.2 trillion and each XRP coin would be worth $182.

Okay okay, I know these scenarios are wild. There might not even be a functional world economy if something catastrophic happens along the way. But it does give a good insight into the potential long term growth of XRP if (and it is a big if) banks agree to use the currency as their transaction medium.

Let's Bring It Back Down To Earth

A bright future for Ripple is not set in stone.

The main potential risks for investment in XRP that I see are:
• Banks decide not to implement blockchain technology for RTGS systems
• Banks implement Ripple’s transaction system, but decide not to use XRP
• Banks choose to create their own blockchain and transaction network
• Ripple’s current main competitor, SWIFT, develops new technology which has advantages over Ripple’s transaction network
• A significant negative event occurs which causes the market to lose confidence in Ripple
• Global economic or financial collapse

But what is this crypto life without risk anyway? If we can put aside the ideological belief that Ripple is a centralised ‘bankchain’ working with the enemy and focus purely on potential profit, there is clear value in a long term investment here. Revolutionising frictionless payments worldwide is no simple task, but so far, it seems Ripple is successfully starting to make an impact.

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A Cryptocurrency Without a Blockchain Has Been Built to Outperform Bitcoin

litcoin isn’t the only cryptocurrency on a hot streak—plenty of alternative currencies have enjoyed rallies alongside the Epic Bitcoin Bull Run of 2017. One of the most intriguing examples is also among the most obscure in the cryptocurrency world. Called IOTA, it has jumped in total value from just over $4 billion to more than $10 billion in a little over two weeks. But that isn’t what makes it interesting. What makes it interesting is that it isn’t based on a blockchain at all; it’s something else entirely.

The rally began in late November, after the IOTA Foundation, the German nonprofit behind the novel cryptocurrency, announced that it was teaming up with several major technology firms to develop a “decentralized data marketplace.”

A what, now?

Though IOTA tokens can be used like any other cryptocurrency, the protocol was designed specifically for use on connected devices, says cofounder David Sønstebø. Organizations collect huge amounts of data from these gadgets, from weather tracking systems to sensors that monitor the performance of industrial machinery (a.k.a. the Internet of things). But nearly all of that information is wasted, sitting in siloed databases and not making money for its owners, says Sønstebø.

IOTA’s system can address this in two ways, he says. First, it can assure the integrity of this data by securing it in a tamper-proof decentralized ledger. Second, it enables fee-less transactions between the owners of the data and anyone who wants to buy it—and there are plenty of companies that want to get their hands on data.

Now, here’s where things get really interesting. Instead of a blockchain, IOTA uses a “tangle,” which is based on a mathematical concept called a directed acyclic graph. Sønstebø says his team pursued an alternative approach after deciding that blockchains are too costly—it has recently cost as much as $20 per Bitcoin transaction because of high demand—and inefficient to operate at the scale required for the Internet of things.

Part of Sønstebø’s issue with Bitcoin and other blockchain systems it that they rely on a distributed network of “miners” to verify transactions. (For more: “What Bitcoin Is, and Why It Matters”)

So IOTA has dispensed with the miners. Instead, when a user issues a transaction, that individual also validates two randomly selected previous transactions, each of which refer to two other previous transactions, and so on. As new transactions mount, a “tangled web of confirmation” grows, says Sønstebø.

Sounds great, but as Sønstebø notes, IOTA is still in “very early-stage beta.” And the high-profile names participating in its data market pilot—including Microsoft, Deutsche Telekom, and Fujitsu—suggest IOTA is onto something. In recent months, though, some prominent members of the cryptocurrency research community have expressed reservationsabout IOTA’s design and overall security. In August, researchers from MIT and Boston University reported that they discovered a “serious vulnerability” in a novel cryptographic technique IOTA was using.

IOTA has patched the vulnerability, and Sønstebø says that security measures in place would have prevented anyone from losing funds. The foundation has hired a third-party firm to help it continue to develop the technique, which Sønstebø says represents the kind of “lightweight cryptography” needed for low-power connected devices, like sensors.

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How to Mine Bitcoins at Home in 5 Steps

This is a step by step guide to mining Bitcoins at home So you decide to start mining Bitcoins, great!
 but not so fast… Before you even start to think about mining Bitcoins you will need figure some stuff out. But don’t worry, this guide has you covered. I’ll explain each and every step you need to take so in the end you can decide if you want to mine Bitcoins and how to do it as well.

Step 1 – I’m not sure Bitcoin mining is profitable for you The first thing you’ll need to figure out is if it’s even profitable for you to mine Bitcoins. I’m guessing that your goal is to have more Bitcoins and that’s why you’re trying to mine them. But if you figure out how much money you’ll need to spend on mining equipment and electricity you’ll reach the fact that unless you have a huge amount of money to spend on these – you probably won’t be profitable. In order to find out if Bitcoin mining is profitable you can use a mining profitability calculator. The process of using this tool is explained here. After playing a bit with the data in the calculator you can decide which miner you’d like to buy. If you don’t have enough money to spend on mining rigs perhaps it’s just better for you to buy Bitcoins instead of mining them.

Step 2 – An expensive mining rig is a must for home mining At today’s mining difficulty it’s impossible to mine using your personal computer or even an old mining rig and make a profit. And when I say an “old” mining rig – I mean a rig that wasn’t built in the last 6 months. If you’re look for a good rig I’d recommend going with Spondoolies – they makes really mean rigs (but they also cost accordingly). Keep in mind that a mining rig is not all you’ll need. These rigs require power and cooling to work better, they are also very loud. So it’s best to find a place to put them in which is cool and can supply enough electricity.


If you don’t have such a place you can still host your rig at Spondoolies for a monthly fee. You may also be able to find some bargains on Ebay from companies or individuals who are selling their used equipment. If you still can’t afford one you can try using a cloud mining company – but more on that in a later post.
Step 3 – You can’t mine alone, you’ll need a pool of miners Even though you have a bad ass mining rig you still can’t mine all by yourself –  the mining difficulty is too high. That’s why mining pools were invented – groups of miners who mine together and split the rewards. Once you fire up the miner (explained later) – you’ll get shares for your part of the work in solving the next block of transactions. When choosing which mining pool to join you will need to ask several questions: What is the reward method – Proportional/Pay Per Share/Score Based/PPLNS What fee they charge for mining and withdrawal of funds How frequently they find a block (means how frequently I get rewarded) How easy it is to withdraw funds What kind of stats they provide Do they offer BTC + NMC merged mining? How stable is the pool? To answer most of these questions you can use this excellent post from BitcoinTalk. You can also find a complete comparison of mining pools inside the Bitcoin wiki. For the purpose of demonstration I will use Slush’s Pool when mining for Bitcoins. Once you are signed up with a pool you will get a username and password for that specific pool which we will use later on.
Step 4 – Get a mining program for your computer Now that you’ve got the basics covered we’re almost ready to mine. You will need a mining client to run on your computer to that you will be able to control and monitor your mining rig. Depending on what mining rig you got you will need to find the right software. Many mining pools have their own software like Bitminer but some don’t. You can find a list of Bitcoin mining software here. I’m using a mac so I will use a program called MacMiner. The most popular program I’ve found for a PC are BFGMiner and 50Miner  . If you want to compare different mining software you can do this here.

Step 5  – It’s time to start mining OK, so hopefully now everything is ready to go. Connect you miner to a power outlet and fire it up. Make sure to connect it also to your computer (usually via USB) and open up your mining software. The first thing you’ll need to do is to enter your mining pool, username and password.

Once this is configured you’ll basically start mining for Bitcoins. You will actaully start collections shares which represent your part of the work in finding the next block. According to the pool you’ve chosen you will be paid for your share of coins – just make sure that you enter your address in the required fields when signing up to the pool.

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