21Shares AG, a global asset manager overseeing $11 billion, has clarified several widespread misconceptions about XRP, including the claim that Ripple controls the XRP Ledger.
XRP, launched in 2012, is among the blockchain industry’s longest-established digital assets. Nevertheless, uncertainty persists around its technology, governance, and intended role.
In its guide, “What is XRP? A Guide to One of Crypto’s Veterans,” 21Shares explains the differences between XRP, the XRP Ledger (XRPL), and Ripple while examining the network’s design, transaction model, supply mechanics, and potential role in global payments.
Ripple Does Not Control the XRP Ledger
A central misconception addressed by 21Shares is the belief that Ripple controls either XRP or the blockchain on which it operates.
Ripple is a private technology company. By contrast, the XRPL is an open, decentralized public blockchain, while XRP is its native digital asset.
According to 21Shares, Ripple operates just one of the 35 validators included in the XRPL’s default Unique Node List (UNL). More than 150 known validators participate in the wider network, including universities, exchanges, businesses, and individuals.
Operating a validator therefore does not give Ripple unilateral authority over the ledger. As 21Shares summarizes the relationship, creating the road is not the same as controlling the traffic.
Although Ripple remains the XRPL ecosystem’s most prominent contributor, the network remains accessible to developers, financial institutions, exchanges, and businesses seeking to build on it.
XRP, the XRPL, and Ripple Serve Different Functions
21Shares also distinguishes between XRP, the XRPL, and Ripple, three terms that are frequently—but incorrectly—used interchangeably.
Put simply, the XRPL is the blockchain, XRP is its native asset, and Ripple is the company developing payment, custody, and related infrastructure that uses the network.
Their history is closely connected. When XRP launched, its founders allocated 80 billion of the asset’s 100 billion total supply to Ripple to support development. In 2017, Ripple placed 55 billion XRP into escrow. Approximately 34 billion XRP remain locked there today, according to 21Shares, with releases following a publicly available schedule.
Ripple’s XRP holdings, however, do not equate to ownership or control of the underlying decentralized network.
XRP Has a Fixed Supply of 100 Billion
XRP also has a supply structure that differs from many other digital assets.
All 100 billion XRP were created when the ledger launched. The network consequently requires neither mining nor inflationary issuance, and no additional XRP can be created beyond the original supply.
The circulating supply instead declines gradually because a small amount of XRP is permanently destroyed whenever a transaction is processed.
This transaction-cost mechanism primarily discourages spam and helps protect the XRPL from abuse. Each burned amount is also permanently removed from circulation.
According to 21Shares, more than 14 million XRP have been destroyed through this process to date.
The XRPL Focuses on Payments and Expanding Use Cases
The XRPL can settle transactions in roughly three to five seconds at a cost of about $0.0002, according to 21Shares. It uses a low-energy consensus mechanism rather than mining.
Its architecture is designed with payments in mind, and XRP can function as a bridge asset. This could enable value to move between currencies without relying entirely on traditional correspondent banking systems.
For example, a payment can be converted into XRP, transferred across the XRPL within seconds, and then exchanged for another currency. 21Shares cites Japan’s SBI Holdings and Malaysia-based Tranglo as examples of financial and payment companies working with the network’s payment infrastructure.
The XRPL has also expanded beyond payments to support decentralized trading, stablecoins, and tokenized real-world assets. 21Shares highlights Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin, which had reached a market value of $2.4 billion, along with approximately $4 billion in tokenized assets represented on the ledger.
21Shares is also active in the XRP market as an issuer of a spot-based XRP ETF. The fund is the fourth-largest among XRP ETFs, with $157 million in net assets, compared with $1.51 billion across the category as a whole.
