XRP Classic: What It Is, Why It Exists, and How It Differs from XRP

When people talk about XRP Classic, a blockchain fork of the original XRP ledger created after a community-driven split from Ripple’s official network. Also known as XRP CL, it’s not just another altcoin—it’s a direct response to centralized control in crypto. While Ripple Labs pushed XRP toward institutional adoption with strict compliance and limited supply, a portion of the community wanted a fully decentralized, open ledger with no corporate influence. XRP Classic was born from that tension.

Unlike Ripple’s XRP, which is managed by a single company and often traded as a security-like asset, XRP Classic, a community-run blockchain that preserves the original 2013 codebase and rejects Ripple’s centralized governance. Also known as XRP CL, it operates without corporate oversight and allows anyone to validate transactions. This makes it closer to Bitcoin’s ethos: no central authority, no reserved tokens for insiders, and no legal battles shaping its future. It’s a technical clone with a philosophical difference. You won’t find XRP Classic on Binance or Coinbase—it’s traded on smaller, decentralized exchanges like Uniswap and PancakeSwap, mostly by users who distrust Ripple’s control over the original XRP supply.

The split wasn’t just about code—it was about values. Ripple locked up billions of XRP in escrow, controlled mining rewards, and partnered with banks. XRP Classic removed all of that. Its supply is fixed at 100 billion, just like the original, but every coin is freely tradable, and no entity holds a controlling stake. This is why you’ll see XRP Classic mentioned in posts about blockchain splits, Ripple, the company behind the official XRP token that has faced SEC lawsuits and centralized governance criticism. Also known as Ripple Labs, it represents the institutional side of crypto that many decentralization purists reject., and cryptocurrency fork, a permanent divergence in blockchain protocol that creates a new chain with its own rules and community. Also known as hard fork, it’s how crypto stays true to its roots when leadership strays..

What you’ll find in this collection isn’t hype or speculation. These are real, grounded posts that dig into what XRP Classic actually is—not what marketers say it is. You’ll read about how it’s used in peer-to-peer transactions outside traditional finance, why some miners still support it, and how its tokenomics differ from Ripple’s. There’s no fluff. No promises of returns. Just facts about a coin that exists because people refused to let one company decide how crypto should work.