XRP (CRYPTO: XRP), the native cryptocurrency of the Ripple blockchain, has declined more than 80% from its all-time high in early 2018. The bulls had originally expected XRP to gain more traction as more companies routed their gross payments, remittances, and foreign exchange transactions through Ripple's blockchain. Ripple claimed its ledger could provide its customers with secure, instant, and "nearly free global financial transactions of any size with no chargebacks."

Several smaller financial institutions -- including Travelex Bank, Tranglo, and Sentbe -- tapped Ripple's network as a cheaper alternative to the SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) protocol used by most banks. However, most of those customers only used Ripple for fiat currency transactions instead of adopting XRP as an alternative payment method. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also sued Ripple in December 2020 for raising $1.3 billion through an offering of XRP tokens, alleging the sale constituted an illegal transaction of unregistered securities.

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Source Fool.com