Ripple is the catchall name for the cryptocurrency platform, the transactional protocol for which is actually XRP, in the same fashion as Ethereum is the name for the platform that facilitates trades in Ether. Like other cryptocurrencies, Ripple is built atop the idea of a distributed ledger network which requires various parties to participate in validating transactions, rather than any singular centralized authority. That facilitates transactions all over the world, and transfer fees are far cheaper than the likes of bitcoin. Unlike other cryptocurrencies, XRP transfers are effectively immediate, requiring no typical confirmation time. Ripple was originally founded by a single company, Ripple Labs, and continues to be backed by it, rather than the larger network of developers that continue bitcoin’s development. It also doesn’t have a fluctuating amount of its currency in existence. Where bitcoin has a continually growing pool with an eventual maximum, and Ethereum theoretically has no limit, Ripple was created with all of its 100 billion XRP tokens right out of the gate. That number is maintained with no mining and most of the tokens are owned and held by Ripple Labs itself — around 60 billion at the latest count. Even at the recently reduced value of around half a dollar per XRP, that means Ripple Labs is currently sitting on around $20 billion worth of the cryptocurrency (note: Ripple’s price crashed hard recently, and may be worth far less than $60 billion by time you read this). It holds 55 billion XRP in an escrow account, which allows it to sell up to a billion per month if it so chooses in order to fund new projects and acquisitions. Selling such an amount would likely have a drastic effect on the cryptocurrency’s value, and isn’t something Ripple Labs plans to do anytime soon. In actuality, Ripple Labs is looking to leverage the technology behind XRP to allow for faster banking transactions around the world. While Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are built on the idea of separating financial transactions from the financial organizations of traditional currencies, Ripple is almost the opposite in every sense. XRP by Ripple price can be found on this page alongside the market capitalization and additional stats.
MaidSafeCoin serves as a token for Safecoin, a decentralized currency for a decentralized network. Safecoin will serve as the currency for the SAFE network, a network made up of the extra hard disk space, processing power, and data connectivity of its users. Think of it as the sharing economy but for your digital resources. MaidSafe is the company developing the SAFE network to save the world from the perils of centralized data storage. In the current paradigm, the best case is corporations use your data to better target you to their advertisers. The worst case is they leak your private data to the public, as Yahoo, Equifax, Target, and many other companies have already done. The SAFE network ultimately wants to “create a secure, autonomous, data-centric, peer-to-peer network as an alternative to the current server-centric model.” There will be two main users of the network: clients and farmers. The client accesses the various features of the network, such as browsing, storing data, or transferring money. The farmers store and look after your data until it’s needed, at which point they might receive a reward for their efforts. The SAFE network is an “encrypted layer that sits on top of the current internet, allowing for autonomous data storage and networking by replacing three” of the OSI networking layers. MaidSafe, a Scotland based company, started developing the SAFE network in 2006. The presale on April 22nd, 2014 sold 10% of all MaidSafeCoins. You could buy 17,000 MaidSafeCoins for 1 BTC at that time. The company allowed 30 days to try and reach their 8 million dollar fundraising goal, but they reached the target in just 5 hours. The team is currently in stage Alpha 2 on their roadmap. the future of this crypto, quite like other presently available cryptos such as BitShares, Cardano, Dent, looks bright because the concept of having a decentralized internet is a fresh one. As more and more networks—whether data networks or social media—make the shift to decentralization, MaidSafeCoin coins’ value will grow. Just keep an eye on MAID because it is all set to seriously disrupt the internet landscape for the better. The future of this crypto, quite like other presently available cryptos such as BitShares, Cardano, Dent, looks bright because the concept of having a decentralized internet is a fresh one. As more and more networks—whether data networks or social media—make the shift to decentralization, MaidSafeCoin coins’ value will grow. Just keep an eye on MAID because it is all set to seriously disrupt the internet landscape for the better.'