The most visible is not always the best performer. In 2017, the Ripple is better than Bitcoin. Admittedly, the year 2017 has probably been that of Bitcoin: the most popular and high-profile cryptocurrency has grown from just over $ 900 in early 2017 to nearly $ 17,000 in December. Not without playing the roller coaster at the end of the year, causing some observers to fear the explosion of a "speculative bubble". But the Ripple has grown 36,000% in one year, against 1,318% for Bitcoin.

More than 36,000% increase in one year. Who says better ? The Ripple, discreet cryptocurrency, was much better in 2017 than the highly publicized Bitcoin. It jumped 36,000% in one year, from a value of 0.0064 dollars in January 2017 to 2.90 dollars today. The US site Quartz has made the list of the most successful crypto-currencies in 2017, with the Ripple in first place, far ahead of Bitcoin, only 14th in this ranking performance.

The Ripple has also just dethroned the Ethereum from second place in terms of market capitalization. With $ 112,325,700,050 in market capitalization, the Ripple is just behind Bitcoin and its 254,094,585,322, and in front of the Ethereum and its $ 86,050,389,365, according to CoinMarketCap (January 3) .

Yet Bitcoin is worth more than a Ripple - $ 15 143 for Bitcoin against 2.90 for the Ripple on January 3, 2018.

"People feel comfortable with their name and the technology behind the Ripple," says Forbes.com Trevor Koverko, CEO of Polymath, a blockchain platform that allows start-ups to launch their own crypto -change. "Ripple is the first winner here," he adds. According to our colleague from Forbes, the increase is largely due to Asian speculators. Cryptocurrency investors believe that Asia accounts for at least a third of all trading volumes in digital currency, including Japan, South Korea, and China via Hong Kong. Unlike other crypto-currencies, the Ripple is less volatile because Ripple Labs owns two-thirds.

Launched in 2012, four years after Bitcoin, the Ripple is better known for its digital payment protocol than for its virtual currency (XRP), says Les Echos. Financial institutions like UBS, UniCredit or SAP have adopted it because cross-border transactions made in Ripples are instantaneous, recalls the daily. However, Bitcoin transactions take more and more time and cost $ 15, regardless of the amount. Ripple is now headed by Brad Garlinghouse who has held senior management positions at AOL and Yahoo! between 2003 and 2012.

Towards a regulation?

While it is unlikely (despite Yoyo year-end) that the Ripple supplants Bitcoin as this virtual currency has generated enthusiasm in 2017, some concerns emerge. The interest they arouse increases more or less at the same speed as the fear of a cryptocurrency bubble. And with the craze and worry comes the idea of ​​regulation. "These virtual currencies raise the suspicion of everything that is organized and regulated," said David Benichou, CEO of Via.io and expert in cryptocurrencies, last December in Forbes France. "The basic paradigm of cryptocurrencies is precisely this: less centralization, less regulation and more power in the hands of users. "

The Bank of England understands this and is working, according to The Telegraph, on a pound-denominated digital currency project under the Bank of England. What combine flexibility of cryptocurrency and control of financial authority. And shake the very unstable virtual currencies.

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@carpinus