How to sell XRP for USD or cryptocurrencies

XRP provides financial institutions with a quick and dependable means of obtaining liquidity on demand.

RippleNet's On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) service uses the digital asset XRP to act as a bridge between two currencies, allowing you to avoid pre-funding destination accounts, save operational costs and free up cash.

This article provides tips on how to sell XRP for United States dollars or cryptocurrencies, whether it's through a centralized crypto exchange or peer-to-peer (P2P) sales.

Note: Selling XRP may require knowledge on how to send coins from their storage place (wallet or account) to another location for sale. 

Owning XRP likely means the holder already has an XRP-compatible wallet or crypto trading platform account. 

For more information on XRP storage: XRP wallets: A beginners guide to storing XRP

To transfer XRP, first determine the asset’s desired destination. Make sure that the destination is compatible with XRP and copy the XRP wallet address of that location. Open the location in which the stored XRP is held, click send (or something synonymous) and paste that wallet address into the destination/recipient field. Type in the desired amount of XRP to send, ensure that the recipient address is correct and then complete the transaction. 

It is also important to note that Ripple and XRP are different entities, as expressed by Ripple. XRP is a digital asset that runs on a blockchain called the XRP Ledger, or XRPL. Ripple, on the other hand, is a company seeking to level up the global payments world, although XRP and the XRPL are used by Ripple in many different ways. 

For a more detailed explanation of Ripple: What is Ripple? A beginners guide for understanding Ripple

Jurisdictions can vary in terms of crypto rules and regulations. Make sure to keep up to date with and abide by any necessary laws. 

In addition to the mentioned XRP selling options below, XRP holders can use the asset as a method of payment at certain businesses. A number of crypto payment cards also let users spend XRP. 

How to sell XRP for USD

Multiple options exist for selling XRP in exchange for USD. A direct route includes trading XRP directly for USD on an XRP-compatible exchange. A less straightforward option might be swapping XRP for a different crypto asset and then transferring that crypto asset to a compatible exchange to sell it for USD. 

When selling XRP for USD or other cryptocurrencies, several aspects to consider include market action, trading costs, transaction size and transaction limits. 

Before selling your XRP holdings, it's a good idea to look at the asset's price activity to see whether you may make or lose more money by simply holding on for a little longer. You may also need to assess your entry point to see whether selling your assets will result in a profit or loss.

It is crucial to think about the trading expenses linked with the transaction you choose to carry out. While XRP transfers are nearly free, exchanges charge a fee for each deal, with fiat withdrawals costing significantly more.

If you plan to sell a significant quantity (up to $1,000,000), an over-the-counter (OTC) trading desk may be preferable to an exchange's order book. Because the sum is significant, an OTC desk lets you sell or acquire assets at a discount. OTC desks draw into their networks of institutional crypto buyers and sellers, including miners, ICO advisers and investment funds to provide access to deep liquidity pools. The order book is a list of all open orders for a given trading pair currently available on an exchange. An open order is just a statement from another investor that they are willing to purchase or sell a specific asset to a particular price. 

In addition to transaction size, some exchanges limit how much you can trade as a new user. There are additional limitations such as the minimum amount that can be sold or withdrawn for a specific period of time. Before you start a transaction, be sure you've gone over all of the constraints.

Steps to selling XRP for USD

Selling XRP on a compatible exchange typically requires following some general steps:

Selling XRP for another cryptocurrency on a centralized crypto exchange

Assets on crypto exchanges are often put in trading pairs. Trading pairs essentially allow crypto trading platform users to trade between two assets. An XRP/USD pair, for example, lets users trade USD for XRP and vice versa. An XRP/BTC pair lets users trade Bitcoin (BTC) for XRP and vice versa. 

Centralized crypto exchanges are generally platforms on which users create and maintain an account that requires an account login. Although users have a wallet for each asset they hold on such an exchange, the private keys for those assets are managed by the exchange. More information on private keys and other wallet details can be found in the XRP wallets article linked above in this article. 

A user may desire to sell XRP for USD, but what if that XRP is held on a crypto exchange that does not facilitate USD trading? One option might include selling XRP for an asset that might be tradable for USD on a separate exchange, such as BTC, and sending that BTC to such an exchange. Once the BTC arrives on that exchange, it could then be sold for USD, followed by completing a USD withdrawal. 

Another reason for selling XRP into another crypto asset might be if the user wants to buy or hold a different asset instead of XRP. 

Trading XRP for another digital asset on a decentralized exchange

A decentralized exchange (DEX) essentially connects buyers and sellers through code online without the help of a third party. In this case, a third party might be a crypto exchange platform. With a DEX, users generally don’t need to log in via a centralized account, but instead, connect a compatible wallet with which to trade. 

Each DEX is often built on a specific blockchain, though, so compartmentalization (a division of something into sections) can be an issue. For example, a DEX based on the Ethereum blockchain would trade tokens built on that blockchain, but not tokens or coins running on separate blockchains. 

That said, DEXs built on non-XRPL blockchains are not generally compatible with XRP. However, tokens that track the value of coins on non-native blockchains are sometimes created, which can essentially enable the trading of those assets on different blockchains. For example, an XRP token created on the Ethereum blockchain with each token backed by an amount of XRP would indirectly make XRP tradable on an Ethereum-based DEX. 

How to sell XRP via peer-to-peer sales

This section may sound familiar after reading Cointelegraph’s article on buying XRP, as selling the asset is also possible via in-person peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions in the form of selling XRP directly to a friend or family member. 

To learn about buying XRP: How to buy XRP: A beginners guide for buying XRP

Why sell XRP via an in-person P2P transaction? While options may be limited, selling P2P has its perks compared to centralized exchanges. In-person P2P potentially offers greater privacy and involves no third-party intermediaries. Neither party must submit personal identification or details in order to complete a sale. However, anyone involved in XRP or crypto, in general, must know and abide by any jurisdictional laws or regulations.

Selling XRP via an in-person P2P transaction is not free of dangers, though, similar to carrying out other types of financial activities, especially if the buyer is a stranger. An XRP seller might find it prudent only to sell in-person to a family member or friend. 

Selling XRP in person may require multiple components, such as an XRP wallet loaded with the amount the seller wishes to offload and an internet connection. Steps for completing the transaction may look similar to those noted in Cointelegraph’s article on buying XRP, linked above. 

The process may possibly involve meeting up with a family member interested in buying a certain amount of XRP with each party ensuring that the other brought the amount of funds expected, following with the exchange of XRP for cash after taking a look at XRP’s price at the time of the transaction. 

Alternatively, an XRP holder may wish to sell his or her XRP in person for a different crypto asset, such as BTC. In that case, the buyer would send the XRP seller an agreed-upon amount of BTC in exchange for XRP. 

Sell XRP?

You need to choose the correct platform whether you're selling XRP to cash out a profit, limit losses, or break even on your investment. Moreover, predicting the future outcome of crypto assets can be difficult, given the considerable price fluctuations across the crypto space as a whole. Each person’s decision to buy or sell crypto is their own, and each person must make and accept their own decisions.