Cryptocurrency exchange Luno has added the ripple, or XRP, cryptocurrency to its platform in response to growing demand for so-called “altcoins”. Ripple is the third largest digital currency with a current market value of US$12.5-billion.
Luno already offers trading in bitcoin, ether and bitcoin cash.
“Demand for ripple has grown and it will be available on the Luno exchange from 3 March,” the company said in a statement on Tuesday. “All customers will be able to trade ripple on the Luno platform at a reduced fee for the first 30 days.”
Last year, Luno asked a sample of customers which coins they would most like to see added to the platform. The survey found that ripple was the coin they most wanted to buy, the firm said.
“The interest in XRP has been building for some time, as many banks and networks use ripple to provide fast, low-cost cross-border payments.”
Luno Africa GM Marius Reitz said many altcoins have outperformed bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, so far this year. Ethereum is up 104%, bitcoin cash is up 87% and ripple is up 41%, he said.
Open source
Ripple was launched in 2012 and is an open-source real-time gross settlement, currency exchange and remittance network, which is designed to facilitate cost-free cross-border transactions.
Its use of distributed ledger technology is seen as an ideal fit for transparent, fast and effective payments, which has led to XRP being brought in to handle international remittances for a number of banks, Luno said. — (c) 2020 NewsCentral Media
