As the cryptocurrency market is starting to gain attention once again after Bitcoin (BTC) surpassed $15,000, users are trying to search for new ways to store their virtual currencies.
In this article, we will be talking about how to create a Ripple wallet to store your coins. This will include two cold wallets (Ledger and paper wallets) and hot wallets.
Basic Knowledge About Ripple (XRP)
Ripple, the company behind the XRP virtual currency, has been working in the last years in order to offer new solutions to financial companies around the world to move funds across borders. If a company wants to send or receive money, it can easily use Ripple’s services or even purchase XRP and use it to source liquidity.
Individuals, enthusiasts, and investors consider that XRP price could increase in the future. All this, thanks to banks and large companies purchasing it to process transactions across borders. If there is an illiquid fiat corridor, it will be difficult for companies to process transfers. With XRP, companies can easily purchase the virtual currency in the local currency, send it to another country, and sell XRP for the local currency.
The aforementioned process would take just a few seconds to be completed, and it would cost just a fraction of the price of a traditional fiat-to-fiat transaction. Currently, each XRP coin can be purchased for €0.222592 , and it has a market capitalization of €9,956,072,621. This makes XRP the fourth-largest cryptocurrency after Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Tether (USDT).
Creating Your First Hardware Ripple Wallet
If you have already acquired your first XRP coins at an exchange, you may want to know how to store these funds. Leaving virtual currencies in an exchange is very dangerous. In the past, many of these exchanges were hacked, which ended up affecting users’ funds.
This is why the best thing to do is to use wallets to which you have access to the private keys. This would be very useful to protect your coins and your funds. You should be the only person with access to the private keys of your wallet.
The best Ripple wallet that you can use is those provided by Ledger. Ledger is a company that is offering services and products to crypto users who want to protect their funds and coins.
Fisrt of all, you do not need to create it, as you simply buy it. Ledger is selling two main devices, Ledger Nano S and Ledger Nano X. The latter is a more advanced wallet that has been adapted to work without the need for a cable. By using Bluetooth, you can connect it directly to your computer or smartphone and use the Ledger Live application to handle your funds.
These two hardware wallets are recognized as the best units on the market due to their security features and functionalities. The best Ripple wallet would be the one that allows you to safely store your funds, and that would protect them in the long-term if you are an investor.
If you want to start using a Ledger wallet, you will have to acquire it through their official site. The Ledger Nano S has a price of €59 and comes in a wide range of colors. Meanwhile, the Ledger Nano X can be acquired for a price of €119. If you want to be even more protected, you can easily purchase both wallets and have the best Ripple wallet configuration in the market. Users who purchase Ledger Nano X and Ledger Nano S together would pay a price of €149.
To set up this wallet, you can simply follow the instructions provided by the company on their official site or through the instruction manual that you will find in the box of your recently purchased Ripple wallet.
To send your first XRP to the Ledger Nano you bought, you will have to download the XRP application to the wallet. Then, start using the Ledger Live app that would guide you throughout the process of handling your coins. It is very user-friendly, meaning that it is highly unlikely you will have a problem receiving your XRP coins.
Creating Your Paper Ripple Wallet
The aforementioned option is very useful for long-term users that hold a large amount of XRP on their devices. However, it would be somehow difficult for newcomers to start using a wallet that must be purchased and set up.
If you want to store your coins and be the real owner of your funds, the best thing you can do if you do not have a hardware wallet is to use a paper wallet. A paper wallet is very useful because it would provide you with the peace of mind you need to store your funds, knowing that they would not be accessed by hackers or attackers.
In order to create your paper Ripple wallet, you will have to go to the official site and follow the instructions provided there. It is going to be very easy to set this wallet up. You just need to generate your paper wallet, print it, or download the application on your phone.
This paper wallet will have similar functionalities as a hardware wallet, but it would simply be a piece of paper. This is why you need to be very careful in the way you handle this wallet. It can be lost or destroyed in an easy way if you are not careful enough.
Once you have the wallet paper created, you will be able to send some funds to it. You will be able to do so from another wallet or an exchange if you have recently purchased some XRP coins. The address that you will have printed is the address where you will be able to send the coins.
This Ripple wallet will have the possibility to receive as many XRP as desired. However, it is generally useful and recommended to have different wallets where to store your funds in case something happens to the first one. In addition to it, you will also need to protect the private keys of this paper wallet.
Although this is a very good solution to store your XRP coins, this has a disadvantage: it is not comfortable to use on a daily basis. You will find it extremely useful to store XRP if you would not use them for a long period of time.
Creating a Ripple Hot Wallet
If you want to create a hot Ripple wallet, this may be easier and faster than with other solutions. However, this is a less secure option than hardware or paper wallets, which are considered to be cold storage wallets – they are not connected to the internet.
Hot wallets can be the solutions provided by exchanges, smartphone applications, or online services. There are many Ripple wallets in the market that can be accessed through the internet and that are very user-friendly.
In general, if you use to spend your XRP virtual currencies, you will definitely want to use these wallets not to store all your coins but to have some small amount of XRP that would be used at any time you desire to do so. If you have the wallet on your smartphone, you will take the XRP funds with you everywhere you take your device.
Nonetheless, if you want to be sure that your funds are in a safe place, you should use a desktop wallet on a computer that is clean and has not been affected by viruses in the past. Many attackers tend to install malware on computers through a wide range of files.
In order to create a hot wallet in an exchange, you will only have to open an account on their platform and purchase some XRP. If you previously had some XRP coins, you could also send them to this wallet.
Conclusion
In this article, we have shared with you how to create a Ripple wallet and how easy it is to start receiving or storing your funds. In sum, the best option to store your XRP is to use a hardware Ripple wallet. This would protect your funds from attacks and hackers that are targetting exchanges and other crypto wallets and platforms in the market.
If you prefer portability, the best thing you can do is to use a hot wallet, such as a mobile or desktop wallet. This is going to be more insecure for your funds if you are a long-term investor considering your computer or mobile devices can be infected by a virus.
