What is a drop?

The XRP Ledger uses drops to count very small amounts of XRP. One XRP is exactly 1,000,000 drops, so one drop is 0.000001 XRP. It is the smallest XRP amount the ledger can record.

It is a bit like pounds and pence: one pound is divided into 100 pence. The units are different, but the idea is similar. Bitcoin has its own small unit, called a satoshi; it is also a subdivision, but its size and rules are different from a drop.

Why use drops?

Using a small unit makes tiny XRP amounts easier for the ledger to record. Network fees are often shown in drops because they are very small. For example, 10 drops is 0.00001 XRP. The fee can change with network conditions, so this is an example of the unit, not a promise of the current fee.

Your wallet usually displays XRP in a readable form. Developers and ledger records may show the amount in drops instead. For example, 0.5 XRP is 500,000 drops.

How the name $DROP came about

The name of our project nods to the XRP unit. The $DROP token's maximum supply is 1,000,000 tokens, which echoes the 1,000,000 drops in one XRP. That is a naming connection, not a conversion rate or a technical link between the assets.

A drop is not $DROP

A drop is part of XRP. $DROP is a separate token issued on the XRP Ledger. They share a name, but they are not interchangeable.

• One XRP always contains 1,000,000 drops.
• The price of $DROP is set by the market; it is not fixed to one drop or any amount of XRP.
• XRP has no issuer. $DROP has a specific issuer, which identifies the authentic token.
• Holding XRP does not give you $DROP, and holding $DROP does not give you XRP.

The issuer and currency code for the real $DROP are shown here:

Where next

Read What is XRP? for XRP's role on the ledger, then What is a trustline? to learn how your account opts in to holding $DROP.