Every transaction on the XRP Ledger requires a small fee denominated in drops — the smallest unit of XRP. One XRP equals one million drops, so the standard base fee of 10 drops equals just 0.00001 XRP.
This fee is permanently destroyed — fee burning. Since the XRP Ledger launched in 2012, more than 14.3 million XRP have been burned this way, gradually reducing the total circulating supply.
The fee serves one primary purpose: spam prevention. At $0.0000152 per transaction, an attacker would need to spend $15.20 just to submit one million transactions.
The 10-drop minimum is called the reference transaction cost. Most standard transactions — payments, order placements, trust line creations — use exactly this amount. Multi-signed transactions require a multiple of this baseline.
Validators periodically vote on fee settings. The network automatically adjusts to the median preference among trusted validators, ensuring the fee remains appropriate as XRP value changes.
Under normal conditions, 10 drops is sufficient. When the network experiences high traffic, an escalation mechanism called the open ledger cost kicks in. Fees can rise significantly during congestion to prioritize the most important transactions. Ripple CTO confirmed in early 2026 that this dynamic system is working as designed.
Taken possession of my entire soul, like these sweet mornings of spring which i enjoy with my whole.
Taken possession of my entire soul, like these sweet mornings of spring which i enjoy with my whole.
Taken possession of my entire soul, like these sweet mornings of spring which i enjoy with my whole.
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