[HELP] What to use for Ripple "issuer" to trade currencies??

[statdude]

Base currencyBTC ???cancel
Counter currencyXRP

You must select an issuer to trade currencies. Click the “change issuer”, link above and enter your trusted gateway address or nickname.


Can someone explain this to me?

[Sukrim]

You need to specify whose BTC you want to trade, any balance on Ripple that is not XRP is based upon something that has been stored at a 3rd party (a "gateway"). To specify which 3rd party's balance you want to trade, you need to enter their issuing address.

This is similar to trading BTC on MtGox vs. trading them on Bitstamp - in one case your funds are held by MtGox and in the other case they are held by Bitstamp. You have one single interface in Ripple for any issuer though, since it is decentralized and not distributed, like current BTC exchanges that have no links between them. That's why you need to be clear about which balances you want to trade.

You can trade other currencies besides XRP too by the way, for example LTC for BTC or USD for CNY...

[bitpop]

I don't think anyone uses ripple any more