Cloud Hosting

Ripple and Ethereum are two of the most popular digital assets in the crypto market. Despite both cryptocurrencies promising to reinvent finance across the globe, ETH and XRP tackle this monumental task from completely different angles.

While David Schwartz, Brad Garlinghouse, and the team at Ripple Labs want to facilitate simpler transactions globally, Vitalik Buterin and the wider Ethereum community are reimagining whats possible on the internet.

In this article, well pit two of the blockchain industrys brightest stars against each other to see who comes out on top.

Before plunging into the nuts and bolts of these protocols, its important to understand what Ripple and Ethereum do and why these ecosystems carry so much gravity in the crypto space.

Originally designed by Jed McCaleb as the ultimate Bitcoin (BTC) alternative, Ripple is a cross-border payment protocol that aims to streamline international financial transactions.

With a focus on central banks and other high-powered financial institutions, Ripple Labs envisions a world where lengthy and expensive international payments are executed in seconds, liberating the flow of money worldwide.

The Ripple Labs team has wasted no time building a powerful network of strategic partnerships. Dozens of banks and financial institutions, including Santander and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, have joined the RippleNet. With XRPs legal dramas mostly behind it, Ripples expansive partnerships are expected to grow.

Ethereum is the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization and is responsible for pioneering many of blockchain technologys greatest innovations.

A fully decentralized, smart contract-capable network, Ethereum reimagined what we knew possible on the internet, giving us remarkable new use cases like decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Today, Ethereum boasts the greatest diversity of on-chain technologies and applications seen in the space. Vitalik Buterins network has given millions of people worldwide greater control over their funds, eliminating the need for costly intermediaries in dozens of industries and sectors.

As Im sure you can understand by now, Ripple and Ethereum are fundamentally different on many levels, and each blockchain is better suited to different tasks. What are the main differences to consider when comparing the two blockchains?

Ripple, XRP, and the XRP Ledger are primarily used to transfer funds efficiently across borders. Thats not to say there isnt some semblance of DeFi activity on the network, but the blockchains main focus is to provide services to financial institutions globally.

On the other hand, Ethereum offers a far more diverse range of utilities. While early activity on the network was centered around decentralized finance, Ethereum developers have spread their wings to provide blockchain-based applications in everything from supply chain management and healthcare to legal services and gaming.

The XRP Ledger was designed to eclipse Bitcoins limitations and provide an unrivaled payment system. With blazing-fast transaction speeds, high transaction throughput, and low fees, the XPRL can support vast amounts of users without breaking a sweat or breaking the bank.

In this respect, Ethereum falls short. The network has long suffered from astronomical gas fees, with a simple trade, digital currency transfer, or NFT mint costing upwards of $50. Ethereum is also much slower than Ripple, managing only around 15 transactions per second

However, all is not lost for Ethereum. The network supports dozens of layer 2 scaling solutions that help shoulder some of the burden, providing Ethereums unmatched developer experience on far more scalable platforms.

On top of that, Vitalik Buterin and the Ethereum community are constantly working to improve the network. Plans are underway to alleviate Ethereums issues and help it compete with more modern and performant Layer Ones.

As mentioned earlier, Ripples primary focus is on delivering solutions for some of the worlds largest financial institutions. While most cryptocurrency industry aims to give power and control back to the individual, Ripple is more interested in sticking with the big players.

Beyond that, Ripple faces some centralization issues. While claiming to be fully decentralized, the XRP Ledger is largely operated by Ripple Labs, a private company.

As if that wasnt enough, Ripple Labs holds over 50B XRP tokens in its escrow vaults.

This staggering figure makes up more than half of XRPs total supply, a concept that even Ripple CTO David Schwartz has difficulty supporting.

Meanwhile, Ethereums development and future are firmly held in the hands of its community. On-chain votes manage the protocols governance, and anyone can submit new proposals that might dictate the blockchains path forward.

Like Bitcoin itself, Ethereum champions the original ethos of blockchain technology. The network aims to give everyone on earth greater control of their assets and provide a secure, anonymous, and permissionless platform for all.

Having shaken the legal monkey off its back, Ripple can finally look ahead unburdened. At the same time, Ethereums network effect is growing larger daily, supported by a comprehensive roadmap expected to resolve its issues. What does the future hold for these iconic cryptocurrencies?

While Ripple Labs legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchanges Commission is far from over, Judge Analisa Torres declaration that XRP is not a security has been a great boon for the XRP community.

With that out of the way, Ripple Labs can focus more on expanding the RippleNet work towards more partnerships with large financial institutions.

Rumors have been circulating about a potential Ripple IPO. However, Ripple Labs CEO Brad Garlinghouse has denied these claims, suggesting that Ripple is not in any hurry to go public.

Following a successful transition to becoming a more energy-efficient, Proof-of-Stake blockchain in 2022, the next steps of Ethereums roadmap are dedicated to scaling the network.

Co-founder Vitalik Buterin has updated the Ethereum roadmap, painting a picture of what to expect in 2024 (ignoring the typo in his post). The plan ahead follows the 6-step path to newfound scalability, separated into comically named sections.

While it is unlikely that all this will be achieved in 2024 alone, the Ethereum community is largely happy with the proposal, which aims to bring Ethereum to greater heights.

Comparisons between crypto projects are not always a great measure of their value. The reality is that its hard to compare the perks and potential of two fundamentally different protocols with contrasting values and use cases.

On paper, Ripple is a far more efficient and scalable payment processor. However, Ethereums adaptability and scope are far wider, allowing for a more diverse range of utilities and adoption channels.

Ultimately, the question shouldnt be as simple as Which is better?. The question is which blockchain is better suited to your individual needs.

Ripple is undoubtedly the better option if you want to transfer funds quickly at a low cost. For everything else, Ethereum offers a much more diverse range of tools and services that Ripple and the XRP Ledger cannot match.

Ripple and Ethereum are two of the most important digital assets in the crypto market. Its essential to understand what both networks are capable of before making any investment decisions.

Ripple and Ethereum serve different purposes and have different objectives. This makes it hard to say emphatically whether one is better.

While nothing is impossible, it is exceptionally unlikely that Ripple XRP will hit $100. If this were to happen, XRP would have a market capitalization greater than that of Amazon and Apple combined.

You can buy Ripple (XRP) and Ethereum (ETH) on leading crypto exchanges like Binance and Coinbase.

Read more:

Ripple (XRP) vs Ethereum (ETH): Comparing Two of Crypto's Biggest Altcoins - DailyCoin