ripple is not a crypto currency - atleast not as defined by bitcoin. i'm sure it has it's target audience and some of it might overlap with that of proper cryptocurrencies but probably the majority of people who like bitcoin & altcoins for the "right" reasons dont want anything to do with ripple.
I disagree. Ripple will be helpful. Bitcoin alone doesn't solve every problem. We need to overhaul the whole financial system!
80% of the value is held by ripple founders.
This is equivalent to a coin with 80% premined blocks. Explain to me how this is not a scam again?
"When the Ripple network was created, 100 billion XRP was created. The founders gave 80 billion XRP to the OpenCoin Inc. OpenCoin Inc. will develop the Ripple software, promote the Ripple payment system, give away XRP, and sell XRP." - Ripple wiki (
https://ripple.com/wiki/Ripple_creditsBut I take your point. There should be more public details outlining the plans for the remaining 99.9% of XRP.
20% is held by the founders, 79.9% is in the hands of OpenCoin, and 0.1% has been given away to bitcoiners (if I'm not mistaken, this is just my estimate). I see it as somewhere in between a currency and stock right now.
Ripple is aiming to reshape payment processing globally. It's huge. XRP facilitates everything, and should be a great way for companies and early adopters to profit along the way. I think the people who build and support world changing stuff should be entitled to profit. This is why I hold a few extra XRP today, because fuck it, I think it's amazing.
Ripple reminds me of when the Conquistador's flooded Eurasian markets with silver in the 16th century (see 'pieces of eight'
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_dollar). The Spanish may have been plunderers, but that capital infusion really got the wheels in motion in the earliest days of international trade. I'm sure the Spanish and Portuguese elite had a ridiculous amount of coins at that time in history. Who cares? The innovation and mastery of craft of the Renaissance and Enlightenment periods was paid for in silver.
XRP isn't aiming to be a one world currency, it's a tool to facilitate trading. Imagine paypal with no fees, no losses due to conversion, and unlimited gateways to trade in unlimited currencies and commodities. If you have any experience buying and selling online you'll know what I'm talking about when I say that the current state of payment processing is abysmal compared to our current level of technology.
