Unlike other cryptocurrency, Ripple does not have a blockchain. It also cannot be mined, but we’ll get to that later. Ripple does not have a blockchain and instead uses its own proprietary technology called the Ripple protocol consensus algorithm. This means that every node must agree to every transaction to verify that it is correct.
Ripple (XRP) is a cryptocurrency that is pre-mined. There are 100 billion Ripple (XRP) that have been created and around 55% of it is owned by Ripple itself. They have done this to ensure that there isn’t runaway inflation. To ensure that they stay independent of price fluctuation, Ripple has locked up their holdings in escrow and will only release a certain amount of XRP into the market at regular intervals.
As mentioned above, Ripple (XRP) aims to work as a bridge currency for banks. So say you needed to send $5000 to your friend in Spain. Normally, you would take the $5000 dollars to your bank and pay the exorbitant fees to the bank for the service. Anywhere between 3-5 days later, your friend would receive a portion of that money in Euro, not because of the currency difference because because of the costs of transactions along the way.
With Ripple, the bank would convert $5000 to XRP and transfer that to the bank in Spain. XRP moves across the platform, literally in seconds. Your friend would see the Euro equivalent pop up almost immediately. The vision is that it would move at the speed of text messages. Imagine that!