XRP is the native digital asset of the XRP Ledger (XRPL), an open-source blockchain launched in June 2012 by David Schwartz, Jed McCaleb and Arthur Britto. Its total supply was capped at 100 billion XRP at genesis, with 80 billion allocated to Ripple Labs and 20 billion to founders. Ripple placed 55 billion XRP into monthly time-release escrows; unused tokens automatically return to escrow. XRP underpins XRPL’s decentralized exchange, serves as a bridge asset between low-liquidity pairs, and powers on-demand liquidity in Ripple Payments corridors outside the US. Governance is decentralized, requiring ≥80 % validator approval for amendments over two weeks. In June 2025, an EVM-compatible sidechain launched, enabling Solidity dApps and gas fees in XRP via Axelar. XRP is volatile, with quarterly realized volatility of 100–130 % in Q1 2025; users should weigh price fluctuations alongside its utility.