What is the XRP Ledger (XRPL)?

The XRP Ledger, or XRPL, is a public blockchain built to process and record payments using its own digital currency, XRP. It has run since 2012 and includes built-in features such as a decentralized exchange, token issuance and escrow, so many tasks that need smart contracts elsewhere are part of the base protocol.

What is the difference between XRPL and XRP?

The XRPL is the network. XRP is the native asset that lives on it. The ledger records balances and transactions, and XRP is used to pay transaction costs and meet account reserves. Other assets, such as stablecoins and tokens issued by companies, can also live on the XRPL without being XRP. For more on the coin itself, see what XRP is. A separate question is how the company Ripple relates to both, covered in XRP vs Ripple.

According to XRPL.org, engineers David Schwartz, Jed McCaleb and Arthur Britto started building the ledger in 2011, and it went live in June 2012. The founders gave 80 billion XRP to the company that later became Ripple. The XRPL Foundation was set up in 2020 to support development of the open-source code.

How does the XRPL network reach agreement?

The XRPL does not use mining or proof of stake. Instead, a set of trusted validator nodes compares proposed transactions. When 80% of validators agree on a set, a new ledger version is created. XRPL.org says this consensus process takes about 4 to 6 seconds.

The ledger also lists several native features in its documentation, including a decentralized exchange, automated market makers, escrow, checks, cross-currency payments, and tokenization of stablecoins and NFTs.

How does an XRP Ledger wallet work?

An XRPL wallet holds the keys to an account address on the ledger. To exist on the ledger, an account must hold a base reserve, which is 1 XRP on mainnet as of November 2026. Each extra object the account owns, such as a token trust line or an open offer, adds an owner reserve of 0.2 XRP. Validators can change these values through fee voting.

Sending a transaction costs a minimum of 10 drops (a drop is one millionth of an XRP), and the cost can rise when the network is busy. This XRP is not paid to anyone. It is destroyed, which XRPL.org says protects the network from spam and denial-of-service attacks.

When sending XRP to an exchange, you may also need a destination tag so the deposit reaches the right customer account.

What does an XRP Ledger explorer show?

An XRP Ledger explorer is a website that reads public ledger data. You can paste in an account address or transaction hash to see balances, payments, fees burned and which ledger version included a transaction. Because every validated ledger is public, anyone can check a payment without asking a company. Our general guide on how to use a blockchain explorer explains the basics, which apply to the XRPL as well.