作为世界第三大加密货币，XRP也有着自己与众不同的故事。在介绍XRP这个币种之前，我们要先科普它诞生的网络——Ripple。

As the world's third largest encrypted currency, XRP also has its own unique story. Before introducing the currency of XRP, we want to prep the network that it was born: Ripple.

说起来，Ripple还是世界上第一个开放式的支付网络，也是一个虚拟货币网络。通过这个支付网络，全球用户可以转账任意一种货币，交易确认在几秒以内就可以完成，而且交易费用几乎为零，也没有所谓的跨行异地以及跨国支付费用，支付与汇兑十分简单快捷，受到了全球众多用户的欢迎。 Ripple使用了和BTC一样的底层加密技术，也是一种可共享的公共数据库，同时它也是全球性的收支总账。

Through this payment network, global users can transfer any currency, transactions are confirmed to be done within seconds, transaction costs are almost zero, there are no so-called cross-border and cross-border payments, and payments and exchange payments are simple and fast, popular among many users around the world. Ripple uses the same bottom encryption technology as the BTC, which is also a shared public database, and it is a global aggregate of revenues and expenditures.

共识机制允许Ripple网络中的所有计算机在几秒钟内自动接受对总账信息的更新，无需经由中央数据交换中心。这种处理速度是Ripple在工程学方面的一次重大突破。它意味着Ripple的交易确认时间仅为3?5秒，而BTC则需要40分钟。 但与BTC不同的是，Ripple 是一种互联网交易协议，它允许人们用任意一种货币进行支付。我们举个栗子，甲同学可以利用Ripple以美元支付，而乙同学则可以通过Ripple 直接收取欧元。也就是说，通过Ripple, 国际间支付汇兑的流程被大大简化，成本也被降低。

Unlike BTC, however, Ripple is an Internet trading agreement that allows people to pay in any currency. Let's raise our chests, we can use Ripple to pay in United States dollars, while Bate can collect the euro directly through Ripple. That is to say, through Ripple, the process of international exchange payments has been considerably simplified and costs reduced.

或许在很多人眼里，Ripple是个后来者，但实际上Ripple项目的起源远远早于BTC。早在2004年，Ryan Fugger就推出了Ripple的第一个实现版本，创建了RipplePay ，核心思想就是建立一个能够取代银行金融体系的点对点支付网络。 这个项目几乎依靠Ryan Fugger一个人的力量支撑下来，并获得了一定的成功。但当时Ripple的用户一直不多，仅流行于若干个孤立的小圈子，原因就是：Ripple的设计思路基于熟人关系和信任链，一个人要使用Ripple网络进行汇款或借贷，前提是在网络中已经存在他的朋友，否则无法在该用户与其它用户之间建立信任链，因此也远不如BTC闻名。

Perhaps, in the eyes of many people, Ripple was a latecomer, but in fact the Ripple project originated far earlier than the BTC. As early as 2004, Ryan Fugger launched his first version of Ripple, creating Ripplepay, whose core idea was to create a point-to-point payment network that could replace the banking system.

2013年，OpenCoin正式更名为Ripple Labs，由Chris Larsen担任首席执行官，并在那一年推出了作为Ripple网络的基础货币——XRP。同时新版Ripple网络也引入Gateway(网关)系统。XRP在Ripple系统中有主要桥梁货币和保障安全的功能，这也要求参与这个协议的网关都必须持有少量XRP。 Ripple总共发行了一千亿XRP，与BTC一样，XRP的数量也是不能“超发”的，并且由于每次交易都将销毁少量XRP，这就意味着XRP的数量会逐渐减少。XRP用来在每笔交易中支付极小的费用，它可以在Ripple入口节点之间转账，并可兑换成任何货币。

In 2013, OpenCoin officially changed its name to Riple Labs, with Chris Larsen as CEO, and introduced XRP as the base currency of the Ripple network that year. A new version of the Ripple network also introduced the Gateway system. XRP has a major bridge money and security function in the Ripple system, which also requires a small number of XRPs to be held at the gateways participating in the agreement. Ripple issued a total of 100 billion XRPs, which, like BTC, cannot be “exceededed” and, since each transaction will destroy a small amount of XRP, which means that the number of XRPs will be gradually reduced.

1、交易费用低不同法币之间的交易通常会收取百分之几，再加上交易费用。但Ripple的任何交易都低于0.01$;

1. Transactions between different French currencies with low transaction costs usually charge a few per cent, plus transaction costs. However, any transaction by Ripple is less than $0.01 million;

2、匿名Ripple网络不需要用户提供电子邮件，名字，或其他任何信息，为消费者提供了一定程度的隐私;

2. The anonymous Ripple network does not require an e-mail from the user, a name or any other information that provides a degree of privacy to consumers;

3、安全发送Ripple就像发送现金一样，接收完毕后，没有任何其他费用;用信用卡和支票付款时，付款人必须提供个人信息;

3. Safe delivery of Ripple, like cash, with no other charges after receipt; when paid with credit cards and cheques, the payer must provide personal information;

4、可靠由于Ripple交易不可逆，商户可以同任何人进行交易，而且不用担心对方反悔。

4 - Because the Ripple deal is irreversible, the merchant may deal with any person without fear of renegade.

XRP的推出为Ripple的发展插上了翅膀。2014年时，XRP就仅次于BTC，成为了世界上第二大加密货币。而Ripple Labs也为此被麻省理工学院评为50家最聪明的公司之一，随后又在 Fast Company的“ 2015年金钱行业全球十大最具创新性公司”列表中排名第四。

In 2014, XRP became the second largest encrypted currency in the world, after BTC. For this reason, Ripple Labs was awarded one of the 50 smartest companies by MIT, and then ranked fourth in Fast Company’s list of the world’s ten most innovative companies in the money industry in 2015.

2018年1月4日，《福布斯》估算其身家为590亿美元，他也领先于马克·扎克伯格，火速杀进了全球富人榜，排名第五，成为了富豪榜上首位数字货币富豪。

On 4 January 2018, Forbes estimated his home to be $59 billion, and he was also ahead of Mark Zuckerberg, hit the global list of the richest, ranked fifth, and became the first-digit money-rich on the list of the richest.

Chris Larsen虽然已名扬世界，但他追寻互联网金融普惠精神的脚步从来没有停歇。 他曾说：“Ripple或许不会被全世界所接受，但它一定是迈向以数学为基础的全球货币系统的第一步。”

Chris Larsen, who is well known for his pursuit of financial inclusion on the Internet, has never stopped: “Ripple may not be accepted by the world, but it must be the first step towards a mathematically based global monetary system.”

2020年2月，Ripple公司宣布与欧洲最大汇款服务公司之一的Azimo达成合作，并使用XRP在一周之内完成了美国与墨西哥之间2400万美元的汇款服务。XRP帮助金融机构释放原本需要用作储备金的那部分资本，进而提升国际汇款效率，在完成Chris Larsen那个将金融信息交还普通大众的梦想路上，走进了一大步。

In February 2020, Ripple announced a partnership with Azimo, one of Europe’s largest remittance services, and completed a $24 million remittance service between the United States and Mexico within a week using XRP. XRP helped financial institutions release the portion of capital that would otherwise be needed as a reserve, thereby increasing the efficiency of international remittances, taking a big step forward in fulfilling Chris Larsen’s dream of returning financial information to the general public.

未来XRP又将如何，能否真正实现Chris Larsen的梦想，我们拭目以待。

We'll see what XRP will do in the future and whether Chris Larsen's dream can be truly realized.