Ripple Makes Payments 1,000 Times Faster and Cheaper Than Bitcoin - Garlinghouse

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has shared a critical assessment of Bitcoin, pointing out its technical limitations in the payments space.

In his opinion, XRP is a much more suitable tool for international transactions, since it was originally developed as a payment network capable of solving global-scale problems. Garlinghouse noted that the growth in the number of users and the increase in the volume of transfers require effective solutions, which Bitcoin does not meet due to high fees and low transaction processing speed. According to Garlinghouse, Bitcoin is unable to meet modern needs for a reliable and accessible money transfer system. The high cost of transactions in the blockchain of the first cryptocurrency makes it unsuitable for use in everyday international financial transactions.

The XRP network, in turn, was created by programmers who recognized all the shortcomings of Bitcoin and sought to develop a better alternative. Ripple provides payments approximately 1,000 times faster and cheaper than Bitcoin, making it more suitable for the requirements of the modern financial system. Ripple is working to enable companies to make cross-border payments without the need to pre-fund correspondent accounts. Currently, most bank transactions are carried out through frozen funds in such accounts, which causes delays and additional complications, especially when transferring to individuals or small organizations.

Garlinghouse gave the example of a freelancer living in the Philippines who works for a London-based company: such a specialist often faces problems getting paid due to bureaucratic and technical barriers in the traditional banking system. Ripple, on the other hand, offers a solution that allows for instant transfers that do not require large sums and long waits. Similar to the emergence of the first Internet protocols TCP/IP and HTTP, which formed the basis of digital communication, Ripple aims to create a universal and open platform for the movement of money around the world. As Garlinghouse emphasized, the company wants to make finances as free and accessible as information exchange on the Internet.

Another important advantage of Ripple is energy efficiency. Unlike Bitcoin, which uses an energy-intensive Proof-of-Work algorithm, the XRP network is built on a consensus mechanism that does not require coin mining. This allows the platform to process many more transactions with minimal energy consumption, which is especially important in the context of growing attention to the environmental aspects of technology. Thus, according to Garlinghouse, Ripple is not only more functional, but also better adapted to the realities of the modern world, where speed, cost-effectiveness and sustainability are important.