Ripple, formerly known as OpenCoin is a private company that owns the RippleNet payment and exchange network based on a distributed database called XRP Ledger. Ripple aims to connect banks, exchanges and payment providers to enable faster and cost-effective global payments.
Ripple was first launched as a prototype in 2004 and a year later a system called RipplePay was launched. In 2012, the project was handed over and the technology company OpenCoin was founded. Ripple began to be built as a protocol focused on payment solutions for banks and financial institutions. In 2013 the company's name was changed to Ripple Labs and two years later to Ripple.
Inspired by Bitcoin, Ripple implemented the Ripple Consensus Ledger along with the XRP cryptocurrency. RCL was later changed to XRP Ledger. It is a distributed economic system that stores information of network participants and serves as an exchange service for currency pairs. Its code is open source and enables real-time financial transactions.
It is therefore quite different from Bitcoin or Ethereum offerings. Ripple here is a platform for a currency exchange system that is based on solutions for banks and financial institutions.
