In recent weeks, ripple's value has spiked, making it the second most valuable digital currency and bringing it newfound attention.
The relatively obscure cryptocurrency, also known as XRP, is now worth about $2.60 with a market cap of more than $100 billion, according to Coinmarketcap. In early December, it was trading at just 25 cents.
http://money.cnn.com/2018/01/02/technology/what-is-ripple-cryptocurrency/index.html