In recent years cryptocurrencies and digital payment systems are becoming more and more mainstream. Due to the steady growth of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum etc, even most non-technical investors are investing in them. That’s why the prices of cryptocurrencies are reaching record-breaking highs.
Article Fully updated in 2020
In this world of cryptocurrencies which is hugely dominated by bitcoin one of the most promising platform is Ripple XRP. Ripple is an Internet-based real-time gross settlement system built upon a path-breaking decentralized open source Internet protocol. And XRP is the native cryptocurrency of the protocol.
Although it is a fairly new cryptocurrency, XRP is performing pretty well.
With backings from big companies like UBS, UniCredit, Santander, and validators like MIT, the future of XRP is nothing but bright.
But like every other decentralized online currency, there is a need for proper exchanges and wallets for XRP. So in this article, I am going to cover not only the best ripple wallets of 2019.
But I am also going to show you how to buy XRP or exchange other currencies to XRP efficiently.
Contents
How To Buy Or Exchange XRP In 2020
There are a lot of ways one can get a hold of Ripple. I have discussed the methods down below:
Buying Ripple (XRP)
If you head over to the official website of Ripple you can find a list of exchanges officially recognized by Ripple. But I would like to suggest using reputable exchanges like Bitstamp, Kraken or Gatehub to buy. Buying with Gatehub is a bit messy process since you need to buy BTC first and convert it to XRP on their platform.
Alternatively, you can also try Poloniex but it is usually slower compared to the others. If you are from India you can follow this guide on how to buy Ripple in India.
Exchanging To Ripple (XRP)
In my opinion, the best method to get yourself some XRP is exchanging Bitcoin or Ethereum (or any other cryptocurrencies really) to XRP using an exchange service like Changelly or Shapeshift.
But do keep in mind using an instant exchange service like Changelly and Shapeshift has its drawbacks. They provide an easier way to convert your existing cryptocurrency to another. But they have greater fees compared to most exchanges. (Shapeshift is an exception as it doesn’t charge a fee except for the miner fee)
That is why I suggest using a proper exchange like Binance. Binance charges a small fee of only 0.1% on every order.
Now that you know how to buy XRP it is time to store them in somewhere safe. Just like we store cash inside wallets we need digital wallets to store cryptocurrencies. But unlike other cryptocurrency wallets which are usually free of charge, Ripple wallets are not.
When you try to open a Ripple wallet you need to pay 20 XRP as reservation charge to register your wallet.
That is why it is particularly useful to research about the best ripple wallet before joining a random one. And there is a factor of security too!
In this growing market of cryptocurrencies, there are a lot of scammers and hackers who are waiting for their next pay, and it is practically impossible to track down a scammer or a hacker when dealing with cryptocurrencies.
So your best bet is to prevent this kind of unfortunate events from happening by using a secured wallet and by following good practices.
Best Ripple Coin Wallet (2020)
There are mainly two types of Ripple wallets available, these are software wallets and hardware wallets.
Ripple Hardware Wallet
Read: Best Hardware Wallets For Cryptocurrencies In 2019
Generally, hardware wallets are more secure than traditional web-based and even desktop-based wallets. They also provide better protection against scammers.
The Ledger Nano S is not bigger than a standard USB flash drive. But it is certainly more powerful than a flash drive.
In the box, you get a USB cable, an instruction sheet, a recovery sheet, some accessories and the unit itself. The portable wallet plugs into your PC using the provided USB cable. It supports a handful of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, Ripple etc.
It has a built-in display to show important information like transaction status and two rocker buttons to input passcode. If you are really passionate about cryptocurrencies and a security freak then search no more!
The Ledger Nano S hardware wallet for Ripple comes with automatic backup options, recovery options as well as added advanced security features for better theft protection.
Ripple (XRP) Software Wallets
As the name suggests, software wallets rely on software. These wallets can either be web applications or desktop applications and sometimes even mobile applications.
Rippex
Originally when Ripple started back in 2012 the official Ripple team created a wallet that can be installed on a computer and used from there. But Ripple stopped maintaining this piece of software. That’s when Rippex came into being.
They forked the original Ripple wallet and modified it to create their own Ripple desktop wallet. Rippex wallet supports multiple fiat currencies like USD, EUR etc. Not only this, you can also buy XRP with this wallet.
The fee is nominal compared to other wallet services (only 0.2% to 0.3%) and transactions are faster. They also provide a mobile application for ease of access. So if you don’t mind installing a software on your pc and you plan to keep your pc, then this is a great choice for you as it gives you much more flexibility and control over your wallet, more privacy as well as multi verification process.
The wallet is still in beta but still works out pretty fine. The wallet is available for both 32-bit and 64-bit OS.
Poloniex
Poloniex is not only a web-based wallet but it is also a cryptocurrency exchange. It is mainly used by frequent traders and exchangers because of its ease of use.
But for long-term investors, it is not generally suggested as it is quite risky to leave your hard earned currencies in an exchange. One complaint I hear a lot about Poloniex is that it is a bit slower compared to other wallets and exchange platforms.
CoinPayments
CoinPayments is a multi-coin online wallet as well as the payment platform. You can keep your XRP as well as an assortment of other cryptocurrencies, 75 cryptocurrencies in total to be precise, all under one roof in CoinPayments.
The website is fairly simple and easy to use, and it is extremely secure. Speaking of security it is one of the most secure web wallets just like BitGo, as they use the same multisig technology.
While BitGo is only for bitcoin, CoinPayments is for all cryptocurrencies including Ripple. You can perform basic options like deposit, send, receive, withdraw – you also get the vault option.
The fee rate is also very competitive, only 0.5% of a transaction. CoinPayments is supported by around 296000 vendors worldwide and the number is constantly rising. They also have a mobile application to let you access your wallet on the go and even POS interface in select few locations for in-person transactions.
Gatehub
Gatehub is one of the very few exchanges and web wallets that are mentioned on Ripple’s official website. I guess that gives you an idea of its authenticity.
Gatehub’s interface is very simple and it is extremely easy to use. Although it doesn’t accept as many cryptocurrencies as CoinPayments, it is a great multi-coin wallet. Just like CoinPayments, it is accepted by online stores, so you can checkout using your favorite cryptocurrency.
Gatehub is fairly secure but not as secure as CoinPayments.
BtcxIndia & Coindelta
These two are special mentions. These two web wallets only support Indian users at the moment and users can use INR to buy XRP.
BtcxIndia is recognized as a legitimate XRP exchange and wallet by the Ripple website. While Coindelta is not on the official website, it is still a trustable exchange. Both of them are easy to use, fairly simple in their features and just basic exchanges with no fluffs.
You can use these exchange based wallets for free and without the 20 XRP reservation cost. So if you cannot buy a lot of Ripple at the moment or you may trade the Ripple for any other cryptocurrency. Then these exchange based wallets are the better choice.
But if you are going to buy lots of XRP and hold them for long-term. Then I suggest using a proper wallet.
Conclusion
Ripple is one of the best cryptocurrencies to invest. With a market cap of $43 billion and a price below $5 makes it more obvious to be invested in. My experience says that XRP will grow but at a slow rate.
There are several wallets that you can use but I do think that you must go with a hardware wallet like Ledger.
I hope at this point you have a fair idea about what wallet to choose for your XRP needs. I had a lot of fun trying out the wallets myself and I hope you too had fun reading it.