Using XRP to Avoid Crypto Transaction Fees Between Exchanges & Wallets

Updated October 5, 2021. Yes this XRP method also works for cashing out your SLP too!

July 23, 2019 – While there are now numerous ways to purchase Bitcoins through fiat cash (Php) in the Philippines, a lot of us still look to transfer our Bitcoins or any other crypto to international cryptocurrency exchanges such as Binance and OKEx to buy other coins not available on local exchanges like Coins.ph.

Many also do not want to keep their purchased crypto on exchanges or on hot wallets where we purchased them. Most of the time we want to keep the coins somewhere else, whether another wallet altogether, etc. However, transferring Bitcoin from one wallet address to another will always incur a transaction fee. For a transaction to be processed by the miners and confirmed by the Bitcoin network, the transaction fee has to be paid.

In another scenario, some users are complaining that the conversion rate through peer-to-peer transactions makes the crypto more expensive when cashed out via P2P. 

Granted, the fees are not always that high, but depending on how much fee you paid, your transaction can take anywhere between 10 minutes to hours before it can be confirmed. Experts agree that this is limiting the position of Bitcoin as a medium of exchange. Fortunately, improvements are being developed to mitigate this, but until those improvements are delivered, we found a way to mitigate the high transaction fees.

That is by using XRP.

XRP

XRP is a token that transfers value across the Ripple Network. Ripple is a network designed to provide seamless money transfer globally. While we will not dive into more details about Ripple and XRP, the minimum fee for a transaction to proceed is 0.00001 XRP.

When I was testing this method by transferring a small amount of XRP from Binance to Coins.ph, the transfer fee is 0.25 XRP. At Php 16 per 1 XRP, that’s Php 4.

The XRP Method

Our goal here is to transfer Bitcoins, USDT, or any other coins back to Coins.ph so that we can turn it into fiat money (Pesos). Anyway, before we proceed, let’s get this out of the way:

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice OR a recommendation of the product being discussed. Cryptocurrency is a highly volatile market and users should always do their own research.

How to transfer tokens from crypto exchanges to Coins.ph while avoiding Bitcoin transaction fees:

1. Convert the crypto to XRP.
   1. Some exchanges don’t have XRP trading pairs so you will first have to convert it to USDT and then USDT to XRP.
2. Open Coins.ph, take note of your XRP address and “tag.”
   1. The tag is the unique identifier to every XRP account. DO NOT FORGET THIS.
3. Send the XRP from the exchange into your Coins.ph XRP address (again, also input the tag).
4. Now that the XRP is in your Coins.ph account, convert it to PHP (or even Bitcoins).
5. Follow the steps here to cash out via LBC. (You can also cash out by other means but we will choose LBC in this procedure.)
6. You can also transfer from your Coins Account to GCash.

Why Use XRP when transferring from an exchange to a crypto wallet?

Because it is faster and cheaper. Note that there are remittance outlets that utilize Ripple and XRP for cross border transactions worldwide.

Why You Should Not Use XRP

Like any other tokens, XRP is also volatile. Also, the crypto community worldwide is divided as to whether XRP is really a cryptocurrency or not.

On the subject of volatility, Ripple Senior Vice President of Global Operations Eric van Miltenburg said that since transactions are almost instant, there is very minimal volatility during the moment of conversion and when the end-user receives the money. He argues there is much more volatility between PHP to USD versus using XRP.

On the subject of whether XRP is a cryptocurrency or not, I think what matters to us, at least when relating to the subject of this article, is that XRP gets the job done of transferring value and the fact it is on the exchanges and the crypto wallet that we use, allowing us to use it to transfer value and get that value converted to fiat in no time.

This article is first published on BitPinas: Using XRP to Avoid Bitcoin Transaction Fees Between Exchanges/Wallets