立即购买更好的加密货币：比特币 vs. XRP

比特币（CRYPTO：BTC）和 XRP（CRYPTO：XRP）是两种截然不同的加密货币。比特币作为世界顶级的加密货币，经常被

Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) are two very different types of cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin, the world's top cryptocurrency, is often considered a "blue chip" coin that is less volatile than smaller altcoins. XRP, the native cryptocurrency of the Ripple payment platform, is a much smaller token that has largely traded on the drama surrounding a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuit over the past four years.

比特币（CRYPTO：BTC）和 XRP（CRYPTO：XRP）是两种截然不同的加密货币。比特币是世界顶级的加密货币，通常被认为是一种“蓝筹”货币，其波动性低于较小的山寨币。 XRP 是 Ripple 支付平台的原生加密货币，是一种规模小得多的代币，在过去四年中主要在围绕美国证券交易委员会 (SEC) 诉讼的戏剧性事件中进行交易。

Over the past 12 months, Bitcoin's price jumped 134% as XRP's price rose 14%. Over the past five years, Bitcoin's price surged 487% while XRP's price climbed 116%. So is it smarter to simply stick with Bitcoin than to bet on XRP's future growth?

过去 12 个月，比特币价格上涨 134%，XRP 价格上涨 14%。过去五年，比特币的价格飙升了 487%，而 XRP 的价格则上涨了 116%。那么，简单地坚持持有比特币是否比押注 XRP 的未来增长更明智呢？

The differences between Bitcoin and XRP

比特币和瑞波币的区别

Bitcoin is often compared to physical metals such as gold because it's digitally mined through an energy-intensive proof-of-work (PoW) process. Its miners use powerful ASIC chips to process calculations and earn Bitcoin rewards from its blockchain.

比特币经常与黄金等实物金属进行比较，因为它是通过能源密集型工作量证明（PoW）过程进行数字开采的。其矿工使用强大的 ASIC 芯片来处理计算并从其区块链中赚取比特币奖励。

That process gets more challenging every four years with scheduled "halvings," which reduce the rewards for mining Bitcoin by half. As of this writing, nearly 19.8 million Bitcoins (out of its maximum lifetime supply of 21 million) have already been mined. But due to the increasing difficulty of mining Bitcoin, experts don't expect the final Bitcoin to be mined until 2140. It's a tightly controlled long-term inflation policy.

这个过程每四年就会变得更具挑战性，因为计划中的“减半”会将开采比特币的奖励减少一半。截至撰写本文时，已有近 1980 万枚比特币（其最大生命周期供应量为 2100 万枚）已被开采。但由于开采比特币的难度越来越大，专家预计最终的比特币要到2140年才能开采。这是严格控制的长期通胀政策。

Bitcoin's blockchain doesn't support smart contracts or decentralized apps (dApps) like the proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchains used by Ethereum, Solana, and Cardano. However, its simple approach to mining, its scarcity, and its increasing adoption for mainstream payments make it more comparable to gold, silver, and other precious metals than many other cryptocurrencies.

比特币的区块链不支持智能合约或去中心化应用程序 (dApp)，例如以太坊、Solana 和 Cardano 使用的权益证明 (PoS) 区块链。然而，其简单的挖矿方法、稀缺性以及主流支付的日益普及，使其比许多其他加密货币更能与黄金、白银和其他贵金属相媲美。

XRP is a token that was digitally minted instead of mined. Its parent company, Ripple, minted its entire supply of 100 billion tokens prior to its market debut, and it initially locked up 55 million of those tokens in escrow accounts across its blockchain. It periodically releases some of those tokens to stabilize its liquidity and supply. It isn't making new tokens, just distributing a fixed supply.

XRP 是一种通过数字方式铸造而非开采的代币。其母公司 Ripple 在上市前铸造了全部 1000 亿枚代币，最初将其中 5500 万枚代币锁定在其区块链的托管账户中。它定期释放其中一些代币以稳定其流动性和供应。它不生产新的代币，只是分配固定的供应量。

Ripple promotes its payment processing blockchain and the closely related RippleNet service as an alternative to the SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) international payment protocol used by most banks. It says its blockchain can process real-time gross payments, remittance transfers, and currency exchange transactions at a faster rate with much lower fees.

Ripple 推广其支付处理区块链和密切相关的 RippleNet 服务，作为大多数银行使用的 SWIFT（全球银行间金融电信协会）国际支付协议的替代方案。该公司表示，其区块链可以以更快的速度、更低的费用处理实时总支付、汇款和货币兑换交易。

Ripple promoted XRP as its native cryptocurrency, but many financial institutions simply used its blockchain to make traditional fiat currency payments. Ripple launched an initial coin offering (ICO) for XRP in 2013 to attract a bit more attention, but the SEC sued Ripple over that offering in 2020 and accused it of selling unregistered securities.

Ripple 将 XRP 作为其原生加密货币，但许多金融机构只是使用其区块链进行传统的法定货币支付。 Ripple 于 2013 年推出了 XRP 的首次代币发行 (ICO)，以吸引更多关注，但美国证券交易委员会 (SEC) 于 2020 年就该发行起诉 Ripple，并指控其出售未注册的证券。

What are the near-term tailwinds and headwinds?

近期的顺风和逆风是什么？

Bitcoin benefited from two tailwinds this year. First, the SEC approved Bitcoin's first 11 spot price exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in January. Those ETFs allowed investors to gain direct exposure to Bitcoin through their brokerage accounts without trading on a cryptocurrency exchange. Second, Bitcoin's latest halving in April made it even harder to mine new coins.

比特币今年受益于两次顺风。首先，SEC 在 1 月份批准了首批 11 只比特币现货价格交易所交易基金 (ETF)。这些 ETF 允许投资者通过其经纪账户直接接触比特币，而无需在加密货币交易所进行交易。其次，比特币四月份的最新减半使得开采新币变得更加困难。

XRP's price jumped earlier this month after Ripple finally settled its SEC lawsuit. Ripple was only fined $125 million, compared to the SEC's original demand for $2 billion. A federal district court ruled its ICO didn't constitute a sale of unregistered securities. That settlement eliminates the biggest near-term headwind for XRP.

在 Ripple 最终解决了 SEC 诉讼后，XRP 的价格本月早些时候上涨。 Ripple 仅被罚款 1.25 亿美元，而 SEC 最初的要求是 20 亿美元。联邦地区法院裁定其 ICO 不构成销售未注册证券。该和解消除了 XRP 近期最大的阻力。

Ripple plans to launch its own stablecoin (Ripple USD) and $10 million in tokenized U.S. T-bills on the XRP blockchain this year. It's also getting ready to upgrade that ledger with new tools for developing decentralized finance (DeFi) apps and dynamic non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and those new projects could stabilize and boost XRP's market price.

Ripple 计划今年在 XRP 区块链上推出自己的稳定币（Ripple USD）和 1000 万美元的代币化美国国库券。它还准备使用用于开发去中心化金融（DeFi）应用程序和动态不可替代代币（NFT）的新工具来升级该分类账，这些新项目可以稳定并提高 XRP 的市场价格。

Expectations for rate cuts in the near future are driving some investors back toward the cryptocurrency market. If interest rates decline over the next few quarters, Bitcoin and XRP could both stabilize and climb higher.

对近期降息的预期正在促使一些投资者重返加密货币市场。如果未来几个季度利率下降，比特币和 XRP 可能会企稳并走高。

So which cryptocurrency is a better buy?

那么哪种加密货币更值得购买呢？

With a market cap of $1.2 trillion, Bitcoin accounts for more than half of the entire crypto market's combined valuation of $2.1 trillion. XRP is only worth $34 billion. I believe Bitcoin's higher value, declining supply, and rising adoption among institutional investors, businesses, and governments all make it a viable alternative to gold.

比特币的市值为 1.2 万亿美元，占整个加密货币市场总估值 2.1 万亿美元的一半以上。 XRP 的价值仅为 340 亿美元。我相信比特币的更高价值、供应量下降以及机构投资者、企业和政府越来越多地采用比特币，都使其成为黄金的可行替代品。

I can't say the same about XRP, which is still only loosely linked to Ripple's main payment platform and isn't widely accepted for mainstream payments. XRP also can't be used to develop

我不能对 XRP 说同样的话，它仍然与 Ripple 的主要支付平台松散地联系在一起，并且没有被主流支付广泛接受。 XRP也不能用于开发