Ripple: A Distributed Exchange for Bitcoin

[dancupid]

The exchange doesn't seem to be working - I've placed a few orders to buy bitcoin for xrp but it doesn't work no matter what price I choose.

The order book on bitcoin charts seems to reflect this problem:



Edit - just managed to buy 0.1 bitcoins - maybe a temporary issue?

[wiggi]

Edit - just managed to buy 0.1 bitcoins - maybe a temporary issue?

Yes, 2 temporary issues, matching engine is down for a few minutes every 2 hours or so.
And already filled orders are sometimes still visible. Both can cause negative bid ask spread.

[TTBit]

Edit - just managed to buy 0.1 bitcoins - maybe a temporary issue?

Logout/login would be my first guess.

[Pouncer]

I use LastPass and it shows ripple.com login is insecure. Any idea why?

[virtualmaster]

Ripple stores your password in plain text. - Reddit.com
Is this true ? If yes then fix it before trying to convince others to use ripple instead of bitcoin.

[herzmeister]

Ripple stores your password in plain text. - Reddit.com
Is this true ? If yes then fix it before trying to convince others to use ripple instead of bitcoin.

welcome to the new world of HTML5 local storage. It's like an app running locally really. Just like BitcoinQt knows your wallet password in plain text as well. I guess the password is encrypted on the drive (this can only keep dumb trojans away really), but it will be decrypted on-demand in memory.

[ahbritto]

Password is not stored in plain text.

Stefan Thomas explains:
http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/1clt5h/ripple_stores_your_password_in_plain_text_as_bad/c9hshzz

[glitch003]

Ripple is just a get-rich-quick scheme for the creators anyway.  Read this: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=179677.0

[bitcoinbeliever]

Why use XRP at all and have to have IOUs?   Why not use bitcoin?

Despite the best efforts of the Bitcoin community, there are still people who think it's a good idea to transact in fiat currencies like dollars and Euros. One of the key design goals of Ripple is to allow people to transact in Euros and dollars while still getting many of the benefits of Bitcoins.

You can use Bitcoins with Ripple. You can do it right now with a few extra steps, but we're working on seamless gateways. Every merchant who takes Ripple is one more merchant you can pay with Bitcoins. And Ripple will provide a distributed, open market to buy and sell Bitcoins.

I see what you did there.  Ignoring the "why use XRP at all" part of the question.

[Minor Miner]

Why use XRP at all and have to have IOUs?   Why not use bitcoin?

Despite the best efforts of the Bitcoin community, there are still people who think it's a good idea to transact in fiat currencies like dollars and Euros. One of the key design goals of Ripple is to allow people to transact in Euros and dollars while still getting many of the benefits of Bitcoins.

You can use Bitcoins with Ripple. You can do it right now with a few extra steps, but we're working on seamless gateways. Every merchant who takes Ripple is one more merchant you can pay with Bitcoins. And Ripple will provide a distributed, open market to buy and sell Bitcoins.

I see what you did there.  Ignoring the "why use XRP at all" part of the question.

but my question was "why not use bitcoins as the base and charge low fees for use of your network"?   it gives merchants what they want (fast settlement, no charge backs and low fees).

[JoelKatz]

but my question was "why not use bitcoins as the base and charge low fees for use of your network"?   it gives merchants what they want (fast settlement, no charge backs and low fees).

The whole point of Ripple is that you can hold whatever currency you want and merchants can set prices in whatever currency they want and the transaction "just works" at a very good rate, instantly, and irreversibly.

If the question is why Ripple's transaction fees are paid in XRP rather than BTC, it's for technical reasons. You can't require one Bitcoin transaction for each Ripple transaction and even if you did, that would mean every Ripple server would have to monitor the Bitcoin network. There's no known way to allow BTC to change hands on the Ripple network without a central authority to hold the keys that release those Bitcoins back to the Bitcoin network. The way Ripple works, the only currency that could exist on the system without an issuer is one that is native to the system.

I've solicited technical solutions to this problem on this forum. It would be awesome if Bitcoins could be used on other decentralized systems without having to trade on the blockchain (both because it would be faster and because it could enable things like microtransactions) or trust a central authority to hold the Bitcoins. I've yet to hear one. I'm still looking.

If you like XRP as a currency, great, use it as one. If you don't like XRP as a currency, that's fine too. You'll need like $5 worth to fund your account and pay for a few hundred thousand transactions, but that's it.

[Minor Miner]

but my question was "why not use bitcoins as the base and charge low fees for use of your network"?   it gives merchants what they want (fast settlement, no charge backs and low fees).

The whole point of Ripple is that you can hold whatever currency you want and merchants can set prices in whatever currency they want and the transaction "just works" at a very good rate, instantly, and irreversibly.

If the question is why Ripple's transaction fees are paid in XRP rather than BTC, it's for technical reasons. You can't require one Bitcoin transaction for each Ripple transaction and even if you did, that would mean every Ripple server would have to monitor the Bitcoin network. There's no known way to allow BTC to change hands on the Ripple network without a central authority to hold the keys that release those Bitcoins back to the Bitcoin network. The way Ripple works, the only currency that could exist on the system without an issuer is one that is native to the system.

I've solicited technical solutions to this problem on this forum. It would be awesome if Bitcoins could be used on other decentralized systems without having to trade on the blockchain (both because it would be faster and because it could enable things like microtransactions). I've yet to hear one. I'm still looking.

If you like XRP as a currency, great, use it as one. If you don't like XRP as a currency, that's fine too. You'll need like $5 worth to fund your account and pay for a few hundred thousand transactions, but that's it.

You are good at explaining things.   I like this more than before but still skeptical.  You need a marketer to come up with a better word than IOUs.....   that is the next part I do not like especially in america where you saw all these people walk away from mortgages that they could afford.....

[JoelKatz]

You are good at explaining things.   I like this more than before but still skeptical.  You need a marketer to come up with a better word than IOUs.....   that is the next part I do not like especially in america where you saw all these people walk away from mortgages that they could afford.....

Thanks. Our marketing people agree with you. They'd much prefer I used the word "balance". And I agree with them because it's unnatural to think of, say, the $25,000 in your bank account as a "mere" IOU from your bank.

[bitcoinbeliever]

If the question is why Ripple's transaction fees are paid in XRP rather than BTC, it's for technical reasons. You can't require one Bitcoin transaction for each Ripple transaction and even if you did, that would mean every Ripple server would have to monitor the Bitcoin network....

IOU's are supposed to be good enough for everyone else.  Why aren't they good enough for server operators when it comes to getting paid commissions?

[misterbigg]

it's unnatural to think of, say, the $25,000 in your bank account as a "mere" IOU from your bank.

Pardon the french but FUCK THAT SHIT.

An IOU is exactly how we should think of what we have in our bank accounts. Citizens of Cyprus would agree.

[TTBit]

it's unnatural to think of, say, the $25,000 in your bank account as a "mere" IOU from your bank.

Pardon the french but FUCK THAT SHIT.

An IOU is exactly how we should think of what we have in our bank accounts. Citizens of Cyprus would agree.

I agree. I was just trying to come up with different terminology for IOU in ripple, but gave up, because that's exactly what it is. We don't deposit money in banks, we lend our money to the bank.

[misterbigg]

I agree. I was just trying to come up with different terminology for IOU in ripple, but gave up, because that's exactly what it is. We don't deposit money in banks, we lend our money to the bank.

Same with MtGox. We deposit fiat, and we get IOUs which are a database entry in their MySQL server. Then you buy Bitcoins on the exchange but you are really getting Bitcoin IOUs which also sit in their database. When you withdraw US Dollars from MtGox you get IOUs from your bank instead of MtGox IOUs. It is only when you withdraw Bitcoins to a wallet under your control that you actually have something which is not debt based and without counterparty risk.

What Ripple nay-sayers don't realize is that Ripple functions identically to the MtGox scenario, it's just more explicit. It would be like being able to send your "MtGox US Dollar IOUs" in a cryptographically secure way to anyone else with a Ripple wallet. Clearly, this is useful and not a "scam" as forum trolls would have us think.

[notig]

I think most people don't understand ripple. It's impressive though. If western union is looking at bitcoin they should first look at ripple......... since they could basically do bitcoin by integrating ripple and becoming gateways since they probably already comply with a ton of laws and regulations.

[JoelKatz]

IOU's are supposed to be good enough for everyone else.  Why aren't they good enough for server operators when it comes to getting paid commissions?

Server operators aren't paid commissions. That's another unsolved technical problem. There's really no way to figure out who really is a "server operator" without a central authority and if people could put themselves on both sides of the transaction fee payment, they could evade the fee system and crowd out other people's transactions.

The transaction fee pretty much has to be something that can be easily verified by all servers and not gamed by someone on both sides of the transaction. Destroying small amounts of a native currency is the best solution we could come up with.

[peter.baril]

Why do I see so many calls for implementing distributed Bitcoin exchanges or putting up more robust/centralized Bitcoin exchanges when we will soon have Ripple, which perfectly provides distributed order books?

Isn't Ripple in-addition-to, not instead of? 

I am assuming new forex-like entities will replace crippling bottlenecks like MtGox and then remain as processors themselves or 'gateways' to ever more powerful currency exchanges.  Meantime, Ripple (both the protocol and its currency-as-token), provide the instantaneous delivery to and among those processors and their gateways that make it all flow.

I am indeed still asking, however, not pronouncing.