Surely someone here would be able to tell me if any of the developers for XCP would ever engage in "working for hire" to develop another coin, such as XPY, with the same or similar properties?  I ask this because the founders of XPY have extremely deep pockets and I can't see how or why it would be a conflict since the code is open source.  If not Counterparty developer's coding, it would sure be interesting to know what or whose coding will be utilized.

In full disclosure, I have a ladder of multiple open orders to purchase a sizable amount of XCP at a price below the current market.  This week I invested 200 btc into another coin, XPY, which is claimed to have similar capabilities of Counterparty.   http://www.coindesk.com/gaw-miners-altcoin-launch-sparks-speculative-frenzy/

I would like a candid analysis (from perhaps someone familiar with coding) that could provide the advantages of Counterparty over XPY.  Here is the source code: https://github.com/GAWMiners/paycoin  I am not sure if the "Counterparty" properties have yet been introduced into the code.   I initially got into XPY as a trade, but certainly not committed for the long term until I learn more.

I like Counterparty vs XPY in that there are far fewer coins which should bode well for long term value.  However, beyond this, I need to understand the technical advantages and or disadvantages of one over the other.  

Any input on this will be greatly appreciated and Happy Holidays!

GeminiSimba, thank you for making an attempt to answer my question.  What you have addressed, regarding the value of Counterparty, is precisely the dilemma: Paycoin is allegedly also coded onto the Bitcoin blockchain according to the WSJ article.  If this design is what has made Counterparty so unique and valuable, then this exclusivity may not continue moving forward into the future.

At this point, it seems impossible to know if the open source Counterparty code will be implemented into Paycoin.  But it would certainly make sense to thoroughly investigate and know the  facts before pulling the trigger on any sizable position in either currency.  

I will speculate and say that if I were the one with big bucks like Cantor Fitzgerald backing Paycoin, who does $20 trillion dollars in financial transactions per year, I would certainly want to implement the very best technical approach presently available, which IMHO is Counterparty coding.  

You have it totally wrong, GeminiSimba.

I am sincerely interested in investing, possibly a lot of money into Counteryparty, as I recenlty have into Bitcoin itself on this pullback.  However, up to this point, I am not finding the answers that I need as an investor to justify putting out all this money, just to have it wiped out because someone else came up with the same coding in a different coin that took off and became the standard for these functionalists.  You can't just bury your head in the sand and believe that just because the Counterparty coders are the brightest and have done the best job, with integrity, doesn't mean that it will ultimately become the most valuable coin.   And yes, it is an alt coin, even though it is coded onto the Bitcoin blockchain.

If you, or anyone else, could address this beyond the "first to market" argument, I am eagerly awaiting a reason to put my money to work.   

deliciousowl, if you take the time to read carefully, you will see that I am referring to Counterparty WITHOUT a side chain.  It is quite obvious that Counterparty is built into the Bitcoin blockchain.  However, it is not yet that obvious with Paycoin, but from the WSJ article, this also appears to be the case?

I would think that anyone involved with Counterparty, at least from an investment prospective, would want to know about other coins that pro port to carry out the same functions.  Apparently, there is no protection of the valuable coding to prevent cloning of the code.

For those of you following the Counterparty "copycats" or whatever you want to call them, here is a Wall St. Journal article.  Paycoin may have a market cap among the top 3  alt coins right out of the gate:

[Suspicious link removed]j.com/moneybeat/2014/11/25/bitbeat-gaw-miners-to-launch-bitcoin-challenger-paycoin/

Interesting that it states that Paycoin will be built right on top of the Bitcoin blockchain, apparently like Counterparty without a sidechain?

Anyone studied the not yet released TruthCoin?   The Ethereum blog had positive comments about it, and seems to disparage Counterparty's unnecessary coding on the Bitcoin blockchain due to several major flaws.  

https://blog.ethereum.org/2014/11/20/bitcoin-maximalism-currency-platform-network-effects/  One of the more interesting quotes is "....some features of Counterparty, particularly the token sale functionality, do not rely on moving currency units under any conditions that the Bitcoin protocol does not support, and so one can use that functionality without ever purchasing XCP, using BTC directly."  

So, this begs the question, what is the value of the coin?

Here is a quick summary of TruthCoin:
http://www.truthcoin.info/presentations/six-slide-sprint.pdf

I am still not convinced that Counterparty will be the leader in this space...the jury is still out.  It appears that there may be a better and more efficient way to accomplish these functionalities of coding.  The real question is, which one of these invest-able crypto technologies will ultimately lead?  

No, I don't work for them or have any affiliation.  However, I am an investor embarking on building a portfolio of alt coins.  

So far, I have only been inspired enough to buy Bitcoin over the past few months.  However, I recognize some of the shortcomings and flaws.  Counterparty was the first alt coin that I have actually considered buying because these features are game changers in so many ways.   But I have not yet pulled the trigger as I am trying to understand and consider any other options and what will make this coin a superior investment over others that will be claiming many of the same properties.

Analysis Please:

The White Paper for Paycoin just came out. https://c91475e716c8925e05c6-d2659d433205cf4410415f8dd63807af.ssl.cf5.rackcdn.com/Paycoin_Whitepaper.pdf   (starting on about page 16, the descriptions overlapping Counterparty-like functionality is addressed)

To cut to the chase, there are a number of functionalities that appear to be very similar to Counterparty.   Maybe too early to tell, but does anyone believe that this has been originally coded, or "lifted" from the work Counterparty has so brilliantly developed?

BTW, the Vice Chairman of Cantor Fitzgerald, Stuart Fraser, is apparently providing $100 million+ in venture capital.  https://twitter.com/GTAUKSTER

Has anyone looked into how Blockstream may be incorporating any of Counterparty's coding?  It appears that many of their goals in functionality are the same.

https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/blockstream-billionaire-entrepreneurs-betting-big-bitcoin/

As a potential investor in Counterparty, I continue to find a number of other "competitive" threats to the scarcity of proprietary properties that would be required to drive the price much higher.  If it becomes a question of first to market, does that trump the late comers or copy cats that are much better funded to establish predominate market position?

I am promoting the extraordinary coding that has been built by Counterparty and the idea of exploring where these wonderfully coded properties for smart contracts and escrow will be utilized.  

What could possibly keep this exclusive to Counterparty XCP or any other currency?

Perhaps we don't want to rely upon having this innovation coded into the Bitcoin blockchain considering the potential flaws in mining structure?  In full disclosure, I have a significant investment in Bitcoins and don't necessarily agree with the following arguments:

Bitcoin Will Bite the Dust by Kevin Dowd of the Cato Institute
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qlydjg1tiso

There is no doubt that the developers behind Counterparty are exceptionally talented and the coding may provide incredible utility for accomplishing revolutionary tasks.  I was initially extremely attracted to this as a potential investment vehicle (Bryne's plans are impressive), especially since there is no mining and a cap of less than 3 million coins.

However, from an investment standpoint, I have a real problem with getting optimistic about the longer term valuations of Counterparty because  1) all of the code is open source and it can be duplicated & lacks proprietary value; 2) Bitcoin itself could end up adopting these features; 3) a big player like Google could bring yet another coin with all of these features (and much more) which could overtake the dominate role for this space; and 4) there are no guarantees that Bryne's dream of an alternate exchange will be the one that actually gets off the ground with all of the regulatory hurdles and track record of contrary political positioning that has been so unpopular with regulators and Wall St. The scum hate him with a passion.  As a result, these factors pose a long term threat to the viability of this coin ever reaching significant value. 

I would love to be proven wrong and, thus, provided with a good incentive to invest.  But I am afraid that what Counterparty has created for the free market is somewhat similar to what pharmaceutical drug companies would be up against if they ever attempted to patent naturally occurring, unaltered herbs and healing plants as cures for diseases.  There is nothing in place to protect the exclusivity or scarcity of this very impressive technology that has been released out into the wild.