Reason for using Bitcoin: token with decentralized ledger governed by math (cryptography) is the future in my opinion and because Bitcoin proved it has best development and decentralization for almost a decade it is safest to hold. If you did some research and still believe there is no significant difference between Bitcoin and Ripple, better keep ignoring the cryptocurrencies, because there are hundreds of altcoins for a reason: for professional traders to extract value from newbies with get rich quick mentality who ignoring fundamentals.