RIPPLE is one of the largest cryptocurrencies in the world but despite its growth last year, it still remains an unfamiliar name to many.

Ripple is valued at £1.52 ($2.06) on January 12, recovering after a major price crash due to cryptocurrencies being removed from South Korean exchanges.

How does Ripple work and are there any risks?

XRP, Ripple's native currency, took the digital currency world by storm, soaring from under $0.01 to over $1 a coin in under a year.

It acts as a payment network, RippleNet, and a cryptocurrency, Ripple XRP.

The platform makes it easy to transfer almost any currency to almost any other currency in the world in no longer than four seconds.

Currently, Ripple is focused on working with banks and other institutions in a bid to offer an efficient and cost-effective way of sending real-time payments around the world.

Using Ripple, if one wanted to transfer currency directly from China to the USA, they can trade CNY to XRP, (Ripples currency), and then send XRP to the recipient who will have an online Ripple wallet or a bank in the USA. From there, they can trade the XRP back into USD.

In comparison, transactions on Ethereum can take more than two minutes, and on Bitcoin payments can take more than an hour to be processed.

Ripple claims banks can save an average of $3.76 per payment using their network.

Since XRP only works directly with banks, the budding cryptocurrency is set to focus on developing networks to benefit finance corporations.

Although critics have questioned why the platform now focuses exclusively on banks, because it was launched to help everyday people make global transactions much easier.

But Ripple can appear risky. It's open nature means nodes are vulnerable to attack, which could leave users unable to access their accounts.

Its technology is still in its infancy, so this means Ripple is subject to competition, and innovation.

Why did the cryptocurrency XRP spike?

Ripple soared by 46 per cent on December 15, reaching a then-record high of 0.8051.

XRP reputedly gained such a boost in its value because Bitcoin's continued growth has benefited the entire cryptocurrency market.

The global market is currently valued at around $488billion, Bitcoin accounts for less than 40 per cent of the daily turnover and Ripple accounts for a minor 4 per cent.

But experts believe it will enjoy a larger boost in value in 2018.

XRP also enjoyed a surge because of its new partnership with credit card company American Express, who are looking to offer instant block-chain based payments.

Celebrating the AMEX-Ripple partnership, the company's chief information officer, Marc Gordon said: "American Express has a long history of integrating new technologies.

"This collaboration with Ripple and Santander represents the next step forward on our blockchain journey, evolving the way we move money around the world."
How to buy XRP
Ripple can be easily purchased using other cryptocurriencies like Bitcoin.

It is available on Bitstamp, where users can purchase them with their local currency.

XRP can be stored in an online wallet like GateHub. This will allow users to make purchases and even send XRP to other Ripple users.