Ripple is a real-time gross settlement system, currency exchange and remittance network created by Ripple Labs Inc., a US based technology company. Also called the XRP Ledger, Ripple is built upon a distributed open source internet protocol, consensus ledger and the decentralized native cryptocurrency known as XRP. Released in 2012, Ripple purports to enable "secure, instantly and nearly free global financial transactions of any size with no chargebacks." It supports tokens representing fiat currency, cryptocurrency, commodity or any other unit of value such as frequent flier miles or mobile minutes. At its core, Ripple is based around a shared public ledger, which uses a consensus process that allows for payments, exchanges and remittance in a distributed process.