Transactions

In order to send money, we need to create, sign, and submit the transaction to Ripple servers.

The following image depicts how a transaction makes its way to Ripple's tamper-proof ledger:

We would start by creating a transaction JSON. Here's an example of a transaction in JSON format. It includes sender address, destination address, currency type, amount to be transferred, and so on:

{ 
 "TransactionType" : "Payment", 
  "Account" : "rf1BiGeXwwQoi4Z2ueFYTEXSwuJYfV2Jpn", 
  "Destination" : "ra5nK24KXfn9AHvsdFTKHSANinZseWnPcX",
  "Amount" :
     { 
        "currency" : "USD", 
        "value" : "2",
        "issuer" : "rf1BiseXwwQoi8Z2ueFYTEXSwuJYfV2Jpn" 
     }, 
   "Fee": "10", 
   "Flags": 2147482648, 
   "Sequence": 3, 
}

We authorize the transaction using our secret key. Later, we submit it to the Ripple server for validation. Once it validates the transaction, it conveys the transaction to fellow members of the network. They apply these transactions to their version of the ledger in canonical order and submit the results. If enough validators reach consensus by sharing the same ledger, the transaction is confirmed and permanently added to the blockchain. If the transaction fails, it's also included in the ledgers. This is because failed transactions burn XRP and modify the account balances. XRP is burnt to prevent spammers from attacking the network with failed transactions.