XRP VS BitCoin

[Dean]

I need help understanding Crypto Currencies...I purchased Bitcoin so I could purchase XRP. When I exit, do I have to exit the same way? (Sell XRP by converting to Bitcoin?) I ask because I'm trying to understand the value of XRP if BITCOIN or whatever currency was used to purchase XRP were to fail...how would XRP be worth anything if I have to exchange it for another currency that has dropped significantly or worse yet....failed and no longer exists. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

[mrcarrot]

It depends on what exchange you're using.  There are some exchanges where you can sell your XRP for fiat currency and then just withdraw that.

If your exchange doesn't have the option, then yes, you will have to exchange it for something like BTC and sell that where you originally bought from.  Of course, there's a chance that the coin could drop slightly while you're transferring, but that's just the way cryptocurrency works.  You could lose a little, gain a little more, or be even; just the way it is.

[Dean]

What if Bitcoin were to fail completely...and XRP took off? How would I realize the value if there were no Bitcoin?

[mrcarrot]

I think you'd have a better chance of winning the Powerball 10 times in a row than for bitcoin to fail completely in the time that it would take for you to exchange your XRP for BTC, transfer the BTC to where you bought it, sell it, and withdraw your money.  Remember, cryptocurrencies are part of a peer-to-peer network, so basically the internet would need to fail or everyone would have to collectively turn off their miners for this to happen.

But, in the unlikely event that was the case, you're right, you'd be out all of your investment.

You can also always just trade your XRP for a different coin, like ETH or LTC and sell those for fiat currency and then withdraw - bitcoin is NOT the only coin you can sell for $$$ to withdraw.

Edited December 29, 2017 by mrcarrot
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[Dean]

It's not that I believe it will fail, I am trying to understand the "what-if" scenerio's behind an issue I don't understand very well. As I am sure you have seen, there are several people in the financail world that make those bold predictions that it's a passing fad and will fail. From my perspective, I wanted to understand what other options might be available to me under a worst case scenario.

[manateehunter]

3 hours ago, Dean said:

It's not that I believe it will fail, I am trying to understand the "what-if" scenerio's behind an issue I don't understand very well. As I am sure you have seen, there are several people in the financail world that make those bold predictions that it's a passing fad and will fail. From my perspective, I wanted to understand what other options might be available to me under a worst case scenario.

What do you mean by fail? It won't seize to exist, the value of it might drop, but the blockchain will continue. If it drops enough that it's not profitable to mine, the mining difficulty will eventually drop too.

[Dean]

Don't assume that I have any knowledge around cyber currency...this is really fertile ground for me. At the same time, it's a real question. When I say fail, I suppose that could be taken any number of ways, but I am thinking in terms of the "experts" that are calling this a passing fad. Keep in mind, if I believed that, I wouldn't be investing. To communicate the point, I used the most extreme example.....Buy Bitcoin to buy XRP, Sell XRP, but the value of Bitcoin has tanked...what options might I have at that time? Just take the hit or could I exchange it for another currency before turning it back into cash?

[manateehunter]

3 minutes ago, Dean said:

Don't assume that I have any knowledge around cyber currency...this is really fertile ground for me. At the same time, it's a real question. When I say fail, I suppose that could be taken any number of ways, but I am thinking in terms of the "experts" that are calling this a passing fad. Keep in mind, if I believed that, I wouldn't be investing. To communicate the point, I used the most extreme example.....Buy Bitcoin to buy XRP, Sell XRP, but the value of Bitcoin has tanked...what options might I have at that time? Just take the hit or could I exchange it for another currency before turning it back into cash?

Just like mccarrot said you can exchange it into anything, LTC and ETH are preferable to bitcoin for me because of much lower fees and faster transaction times if you're using coinbase to cash out. Some exchanges also allow xrp trading directly into cash, though I have not tried those yet. In that extreme example value of BTC has to drop pretty low really fast - within a day - to have significant loss.