XRP：是时候投资“OG”山寨币了吗？

随着比特币价格近期飙升，本月涨幅超过 10%，加密货币再次成为头条新闻。尽管“OG”加密货币吸引了大多数媒体的关注，但另一种已经存在了一段时间的代币 XRP（加密货币：XRP）提供了一个独特的机会。

Bitcoin has seen a recent price surge, up more than 10% this month. But another coin that's been around for some time, XRP (CRYPTO: XRP), presents a unique opportunity.

比特币近期价格飙升，本月涨幅超过 10%。但另一种已经存在了一段时间的代币 XRP（加密货币：XRP）提供了一个独特的机会。

XRP is the functional token of the RippleNet payment service. This digital money-transfer network can send money across international borders both quickly and cheaply.

XRP 是 RippleNet 支付服务的功能代币。这种数字汇款网络可以快速且廉价地跨境汇款。

Currently trading just above $0.50, XRP is well below its all-time high of $2.70. Is now the time to invest?

目前 XRP 的交易价格略高于 0.50 美元，远低于 2.70 美元的历史高点。现在是投资的时候吗？

XRP has a unique value proposition

XRP 具有独特的价值主张

What makes XRP unique in the world of cryptocurrency is that it is intended to be used by institutions as opposed to the general public. Anyone can buy and use XRP, but its primary use case is to facilitate transactions and payments between banks and other financial institutions.

XRP 在加密货币世界中的独特之处在于它是供机构而不是公众使用的。任何人都可以购买和使用 XRP，但其主要用例是促进银行和其他金融机构之间的交易和支付。

It was developed and launched in 2012 by a team of developers hoping to solve the inherent problems in Bitcoin as the developers saw it. These included inefficiencies, slow transaction times, high monetary costs, and environmental impact. XRP is designed to address all of these.

它是由一个开发团队于 2012 年开发并推出的，希望能够解决开发人员认为的比特币的固有问题。其中包括效率低下、交易时间缓慢、货币成本高以及环境影响。 XRP 旨在解决所有这些问题。

XRP is fast

瑞波币速度很快

The main target for XRP, banks, primarily use a settlement network called the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT). Sending money between banks domestically or across borders can take days. Bitcoin payments often take 10 minutes or more. XRP transactions, on the other hand, take a few seconds.

XRP 的主要目标是银行，主要使用名为全球银行间金融电信协会 (SWIFT) 的结算网络。在国内银行或跨境银行之间汇款可能需要数天时间。比特币支付通常需要 10 分钟或更长时间。另一方面，XRP 交易需要几秒钟的时间。

This is one of the biggest things XRP has going for it.

这是 XRP 最大的优势之一。

XRP is cheap

瑞波币很便宜

Bitcoin transaction fees can be as much as $20 or $30 and could be much more depending on market conditions. Normal RippleNet transactions cost a fraction of a cent. For large cross-border payments between banks, RippleNet can cut costs by about 60% versus SWIFT.

比特币交易费用可能高达 20 美元或 30 美元，根据市场情况可能会更高。正常的 RippleNet 交易成本仅为一美分的一小部分。对于银行间的大额跨境支付，RippleNet 相对于 SWIFT 可以降低约 60% 的成本。

XRP is scalable

XRP 具有可扩展性

Bitcoin can only process a handful of transactions per second. RippleNet can handle up to 1,500 -- potentially more with further optimization.

比特币每秒只能处理少量交易。 RippleNet 最多可以处理 1,500 个数据——如果进一步优化，可能会更多。

XRP is sustainable

XRP 是可持续的

Much ink has been spilled on the environmental costs of Bitcoin. The network uses as much power as many countries do in a year. RippleNet uses just 50 households' worth of power a year.

关于比特币的环境成本已经有很多论述。该网络一年的用电量相当于许多国家的用电量。 RippleNet 每年仅使用 50 个家庭的电力。

It's not all rosy for XRP

XRP 的前景并不乐观

The cryptocurrency has some issues as well. The world of crypto puts an emphasis on "decentralization" and many find XRP to be far too centralized for their taste. Ripple Labs is the name of the company that grew out of the original development team. The Ripple company is technically independent of the XRP cryptocurrency, but that independence is not absolute -- and many investors still use Ripple as a catch-all name for XRP, RippleNet, and Ripple Labs. It's not hard to see why Ripple (the company) holding nearly $50 billion XRP in escrow could be a concern for investors.

加密货币也存在一些问题。加密货币世界强调“去中心化”，许多人发现 XRP 过于中心化，不符合他们的口味。 Ripple Labs 是从最初的开发团队发展而来的公司的名称。 Ripple 公司在技术上独立于 XRP 加密货币，但这种独立性并不是绝对的——许多投资者仍然使用 Ripple 作为 XRP、RippleNet 和 Ripple Labs 的总称。不难看出为什么 Ripple（该公司）托管着近 500 亿美元的 XRP 可能会引起投资者的担忧。

The fact that Ripple is in a four-year fight with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) makes this relationship even more concerning. The SEC alleged XRP is essentially a security and the company illegally raised funds with it. Although a judge has ruled largely in Ripple's favor, the case is still in limbo as appeals are filed.

Ripple 与美国证券交易委员会 (SEC) 长达四年的斗争这一事实使得这种关系更加令人担忧。美国证券交易委员会指控 XRP 本质上是一种证券，该公司用它非法筹集资金。尽管法官做出了对瑞波有利的裁决，但随着上诉的进行，该案仍处于悬而未决的状态。

Furthermore, and this is a biggie, the banks that utilize Ripple's payment network do so without needing to utilize the coin itself. This undercuts the main value proposition XRP has. The promise of widespread use by the banking system and the ensuing spike in demand seems unlikely at this point.

此外，这是一个大问题，使用瑞波币支付网络的银行不需要使用瑞波币本身。这削弱了 XRP 的主要价值主张。目前，银行系统广泛使用的承诺以及随之而来的需求激增似乎不太可能实现。

The verdict

判决结果

In my view, there are better alternatives. XRP does deliver on speed and efficiency, but it is not the only cryptocurrency to do so. It seems clear at this point that although Ripple has found success in the Banking community, that hasn't translated to more use of the coin. I think there are better investments out there, including Bitcoin. Even under $0.60, I would choose to put my money elsewhere.

在我看来，还有更好的选择。 XRP 确实提供了速度和效率，但它并不是唯一能做到这一点的加密货币。目前看来很明显，尽管瑞波币在银行界取得了成功，但这并没有转化为该币的更多使用。我认为还有更好的投资，包括比特币。即使低于 0.60 美元，我也会选择把钱放在其他地方。