Is Ripple a Scam?

[The Goat Master]

There are so many posts saying Ripple is a scam.  Also, some of the adverts say it is a scam.  What's up with Ripple?
If you think it's a scam and have some, why not send me some? --mod note: edited address--

[1714869366]

1714869366

[1714869366]

1714869366

[HD7970]

Ripple is not Scam !!!

[The Goat Master]

Ripple is not Scam !!!

Why? Reasoning, please.

[juca]

i was asking the same to myself today...

[Birdy]

The answer is: We don't know

But there are quite some people that oppose ripple and think it's a scam or dislike their approach.

[abety876]

way too confusing :S

[ironcross360]

Ripple is a scam. But is a good investment. It is a scam because it has not open sourced, And allows IOU's and that allows you to easily get scammed.

[The Goat Master]

Ripple is a scam. But is a good investment. It is a scam because it has not open sourced, And allows IOU's and that allows you to easily get scammed.

IOU's? how?

[SoftballSuperstar]

I agree with the confusing part.  the worst part is I see someone on here took advantage of the confusing aspect, and looks like he scammed someone for money, but has had zero repurcusions.  This was a long time member with tons of posts.  

I don't know the whole situation, but it just doesn't seem right.  But hey, I guess there are people in the world who just don't care, and love to look to prey on people.

[lava]

YES, Stay away!

[mmeijeri]

Not open sourced doesn't mean it's a scam, that's another outrageous accusation. This is really getting pathetic.

It's OK for you not to like the fact that XRP is competing with BTC. It's OK for you to try to support a Ripple alternative that doesn't have its own built-in currency to threaten Bitcoin. Open Transactions could be such an alternative and it would add very interesting capabilities to both Bitcoin and Ripple. Or you could try to build a Ripple alternative that uses Bitcoin as its built-in currency. It's OK to try to rally miners to this cause.

It's not OK to spread lies, to pay people to spread lies and to play tricks on people who are just learning about Ripple in order to give them a negative impression of Ripple. It is enormously immature, unprofessional and unethical and it is hurting the cause of cybercurrencies in general. You haters should be ashamed of yourselves.

Instead of falsely maligning Ripple, why don't you look at Bitcoin's strengths and help promote them? You could contribute to a Bitcoin evangelisation campaign in many ways, through activism, programming, or simply by donating some money to various projects.

Instead of paying people to slander a worthy competitor, why don't you contribute to fund that can pay fellowtraveler and others to work on an interface between Open Transactions and Bitcoin?

If you think Ripple gateways are unreliable, why don't you work on a website that will allow people to monitor Ripple and BTC wallets of the various gateways to make sure that gateways aren't issuing more IOUs?

Try being constructive for a change instead of spewing hate and lies.

[bitcoinscanada]

Might be best to just stick with Bitcoin

[ironcross360]

With IOU's you are not the owner of the money someone else is, So that person can steal your money (This is why Ripple is greedy)

[Illimensky]

I was not sure, like many people on this thread, if Ripple was a scam.

Then, I realized:

• Even though the creators of Ripple say that it is open source, it actually isn't.
• You don't have any wealth in Ripple's system - you just have debt.
• Ripple has already been 51% attacked by its creators.

I would stay away.  As far away as possible.

[bitcoinbear]

Ripple is a scam. But is a good investment. It is a scam because it has not open sourced, And allows IOU's and that allows you to easily get scammed.

In the ripple system you can only be given IOUs which are from people you trust. The only reason you should trust an IOU issuer is if you know they will be able to pay you when you ask to redeem their IOUs. For example, I trust Bitstamp BTC IOUs because I know they have BTC reserve equalling the amount of IOUs they have issued, so anytime I send BTC thorugh ripple to them I will have BTC credited to my account on Bitstamp. If you are careful with who you grant lines of trust to, then you should have no problem with Ripple.

Then there is the whole other issue of ripples, XRP, the currency within the ripple system. I would not call it a scam, they have been very open about their plans. If you think that the ripple system is useful, then it makes sense for the people who built it to get some money. I personally would not pay anywhere near the going rate to acquire XRP, I think they are currently overpriced.

[bitcoinenthusiast]

You don't have any wealth in Ripple's system - you just have debt.

exactly!

[djmagicmetz]

You don't have any wealth in Ripple's system - you just have debt.

exactly!

Ripple is just a pooled exchange.

[BTC-UK]

Ripple is just here to ry and destroy btc. Not gona happen!

[nor9865]

I believe ripple is not a scam. There's a lot of people just afraid of it or they think  it can ruined there business.

[bitcoinbear]

Ripple is just here to ry and destroy btc. Not gona happen!

Ripple is not trying to destroy Bitcoin. In fact, they are working hard to interface with Bitcoins. This is like claiming MtGox is trying to destroy bitcoins, it is just silly.

Ripple and Bitcoin are trying to solve different problems, and they are useful when used together.

[alani123]

I wouldn't really call it a scam.
A scam is something that is looking to get your money by giving you nothing (or not what it promises).
Ripple is an online currency like all those others out there.

With the exception that it's not open source and fully centralized.
I wouldn't suggest you to invest much money on it.
What we have to do as a cryptocurency community is to boycott it so no centralized cryptocurrency gets in place.

[ChronoX5]

As long as it's source code is closed to the public I don't want anything to do with it.  There's apparently an alternative called 'Open Transaction' in the works.

[reubano]

Maybe not a scam but the fact the founders are openly hoarding XRP to profit off of its eventual value increase is a turnoff.

[kevindeangelis]

I didn't realize it was out yet.  I got some email from them a while ago to the effect of "Stay tuned..." but, never heard anything other than that.

[comakut]

Until they make all their source code available, I would say yes. Who can create a Ripple node other than them right now? Developing "gateways" for Ripple is like developing Facebook apps; they can shut you down at any moment.

[PalmerEdlrich]

I think it is , in essence , but if you fall for it you fall for it .

[teriroll]

just look it

[sleevedbiker]

Google Ventures is backing them. So, I highly doubt it's a scam.
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=205545.msg2149655#msg2149655

This forum seems to be the official hangout for skeptical people. Which is ironic since you all decided to get into bitcoins which should have made you all very, very, very skeptical in the beginning.

People try to claim everything is a "scam" on here with no proof.

[proatlon]

I think people are seriously abusing the word 'scam' here. Just because you have ideological disagreements doesn't make something a scam. Bitcoin has a long history of scams; this isn't one.

[DigitalCurrencyConsultant]

Ripple is awesome 

[sleevedbiker]

I think people are seriously abusing the word 'scam' here. Just because you have ideological disagreements doesn't make something a scam. Bitcoin has a long history of scams; this isn't one.

Interesting way of putting it as I was about to start posting the definition of the word "scam" on the forum. I like your approach more though.

[mmeijeri]

Until they make all their source code available, I would say yes. Who can create a Ripple node other than them right now? Developing "gateways" for Ripple is like developing Facebook apps; they can shut you down at any moment.

That's not what the word scam means. But yes, be very careful until the code has been released, and make sure that if you use the system, you only use it for small amounts and short periods of time.

In the past week I had a stressful experience with Bitstamp, one of the Ripple gateways, though the problem was not on the Ripple side. Bitstamp is also a Bitcoin exchange and you can use it without using Ripple, just as you might use Mt Gox. I sent some EUR, which took about a day, and which was automatically converted to USD. So in a sense I now held USD IOUs, though not inside the Ripple system.

I could have bought BTC directly on Bitstamp, but since I wanted to support Ripple, I decided to take a detour through it. I withdrew my USD to Ripple, which happened reasonably quickly. I think the delay was due to needing manual clearance from Bitstamp. Now I held Bitstamp-issued USD IOUs in Ripple. Once inside Ripple, I exchanged the USD IOUs for BTC IOUs. This went fast and reasonably smoothly, except for some UI glitches. I then deposited my BTC IOUs into my Bitstamp account, and again, this went reasonably smoothly. I now had BTC being held for me by Bitstamp, outside the Ripple system, just as I would have had if I hadn't made the detour.

When I tried to withdraw my BTC, it again took a short while for the withdrawal to be cleared, but unfortunately it never arrived. It took about 48 hours to resolve this issue, with no feedback from Bitstamp except for an automated acknowledgement of my support ticket. Several other people were having similar problems, and I thought this might be the end for Bitstamp.

In principle, this had nothing to do with Ripple, and the situation was resolved this time, but it does show how risky exchanges and gateways are. 100 EUR was the maximum amount I was willing to risk through Bitstamp and Ripple, and only for a couple of hours, just for immediate conversion to BTC and withdrawal to my own BTC wallet. And right now I'm no longer comfortable with even that.

[kneim]

There are so many posts saying Ripple is a scam.  Also, some of the adverts say it is a scam.  What's up with Ripple?
If you think it's a scam and have some, why not send me some? rNCxzs1EPCW4XbZQ6vgoerJbKvm61eS588

I would give you 50 XRP that I own. But this is not possible, I have to hold them in my wallet, I don't know why. Also I cannot close my account. I feel participants shall be bound to the system, so I think, Ripple is a scam.

[hunnaryb]

I wouldn't really call it a scam.
A scam is something that is looking to get your money by giving you nothing (or not what it promises).

+1

Ripple is an online currency like all those others out there.

I dont think its a currency, the XRPs are used for doing transactions only. I have no idea why people value em so much

[bitcoinbear]

I wouldn't really call it a scam.
A scam is something that is looking to get your money by giving you nothing (or not what it promises).

+1

Ripple is an online currency like all those others out there.

I dont think its a currency, the XRPs are used for doing transactions only. I have no idea why people value em so much

The XRP are a currency much like BTC is a currency. If somebody wanted you to pay them using XRP you could do that.

[Boleans]

Ripple is a Scam!

[bitcoinbear]

Ripple is a Scam!

Bitcoin is a Scam!

This is a great logical argument of astounding depth; everybody is convinced by you copious evidence, especially the bold text and the exclamation point, those totally won me over.

[iram9072]

Ripple is not a scam. But its own by a company.

[colour]

imo, if ripple succeeds it will be just an extension of the current intl fiat reserve currency. this will create a fractional reserve crypto system. bitcoin will not trade freely and its value will be suppressed by unlimited paper ripple credits. paper ripple claims for real bitcoin assets will grow until it is much larger than the bitcoin universe. when bubble pops people holding these paper promises will see their wealth destroyed

Well, I feel like I am becoming a bit paranoid, but at this point I think that Opencoin's Ripple could potentially eat every other cryptocurrency for breakfast and become the unchallengeable champion of the virtual currency game if they play their cards right.

Opencoin has a lot of capital behind them, I think even Google is giving them money. If they use all that money for a huge PR campaign including TV ads and stuff, they could manage to overtower any other cryptocurrency in popularity. Then when lots of people use their system, Bitcoin and Litecoin and any other cryptocurrency will be diluted through the extension of their supply by turning them into worthless IOUs, thereby making any hard limit on the number of coins that can be produced useless. Like with paper gold, where nobody really knows if there really is an equivalent amount of physical gold for all those IOUs in some vault somewhere (probably not, I would guess). So on paper you can produce as much gold as you want, even if the amount of real gold is limited.

The only cryptocoin that will not be made increasingly worthless by IOUs will be XRP, as they can be easily transfered in the system without being turned into an IOU. At that point, Opencoin and the companies that support them are in possession of the majority of the XRP supply, turning them into the kings of all virtual commodities. And as the Ripple system doesn't use proof of work (mining) but trust instead, that gives large companies who can generate trust (and destroy trust into others) by investing heavily into PR measures an additional advantage in the Ripple system. Big companies must love Opencoin's Ripple, as it gives them a chance to control the cryptocurrency game by destroying any currency they cannot easily control (like Bitcoin).

[kencox]

I think Ripple has a shot. I picked up 1000 of them just it case they fly.

[juca]

Until they make all their source code available, I would say yes. Who can create a Ripple node other than them right now? Developing "gateways" for Ripple is like developing Facebook apps; they can shut you down at any moment.

this is so fucked. here they come again...

[cyden]

Ripple is a Scam!

Bitcoin is a Scam!

This is a great logical argument of astounding depth; everybody is convinced by you copious evidence, especially the bold text and the exclamation point, those totally won me over.

But Bitcoin is not centralized and owned by someone. thats what ive heard

[Nik1ab]

"CENTRALIZED, PROPRIETARY AND CLOSED SOURCE"
"Every single Ripple nodes is controlled by a private for profit company. It is centralized, like a bank or PayPal. Not a decentralized currency."

That's what I heard about it.

http://ripplescam.org/

[chickenfried12]

 Thanks for the info but I think Ripple can do OK..

[AdamKD]

I heard centralized and controlled by 1 entity.  It's more of a proprietary solution than anything.

[juca]

Thanks for the info but I think Ripple can do OK..

that is why we should stop fighting between ourselves, eg. btc vs other crypto currencies, and take over the world all together. newbies are ignorant and doesn't know the evil that  represents projects such as ripple.

we have to promote all the cryptos together, before the big boys take over. Again  .

[aceking]

Ripple is a ponzi scheme , all ripples are created and distirbuted by opencoin

[bitcoinbear]

Ripple is a ponzi scheme , all ripples are created and distirbuted by opencoin

Do you know what a ponzi scheme is? If it was a ponzi scheme, then opencoin would be using the procedes of the sales of ripples to pay current ripple holders. XRP pay no interest, therefore this is not a ponzi scheme. Try again.

[JSMill]

It is centralized, closed source, and run by people trying to make a profit.  Completely different than bitcoin, but may not be a scam.

[Nik1ab]

Why do you think it's not a scam?

[malevolent]

This post pretty much sums up the current state of affairs:

First of all, Ripple/OpenCoin is NOT a scam. It is a legitimate business enterprise and it will be determined by the market whether it is a good currency (XRP) and payment system. The team behind it is great, and if Ripple takes off then I'm happy they'll all get rich. Capitalism is healthy. Now, there are plenty of good arguments why Ripple is inferior to Bitcoin, but the scam argument isn't one of them. People need to stop throwing that damn word around every time they dislike something.

Ripple is not a scam, but my contentions with Ripple are the following:

1) It is closed source. Yes it might open in the future, but until then, my contention stands. The point of cryptocurrencies is that you don't have to trust any single person or group. Right now, everyone using Ripple has to trust the team at OpenCoin.

2) It is centralized.  Yes it may become decentralized in the future, but until then, my contention stands. It is not trust of the OpenCoin team which worries me here, it is the fact that they are the single point of failure. They could be shut down tomorrow a la egold. If Bitcoin had been as centralized as OpenCoin when it was getting started, the Government would've arrested and shut down the project long ago.

3) Ripple does not allow users to send "every kind of currency." Ripple is marketed as better than Bitcoin because it can "send any kind of currency." This is not true. It sends IOU's around, which are created out of thin air. The asset - the currency unit itself - is not transferred via Ripple. Sure you can sell a Bitcoin on Ripple for a USD, but then do you have the USD? No, it rests with a gateway somewhere. To actually get it, you're back in the normal banking system just as if you had traded BTC for USD on an exchange. Ripple can only transfer one asset - XRP's - everything else is a debt that must be fulfilled and transferred by someone else. There are numerous liability/risk issues with a payment system that relies on trust, in this case you need to trust "gateways" with the currency units that Ripple claims you own.

4) Issuance of XRP's is left to the whims of men. I do not care that OpenCoin will keep X number of XRP and thus get wealthy if it takes off. That's fine. My problem is that the XRP's which are supposed to be distributed have no planned distribution model. It's basically "we'll give it to our friends" approach. The problem here is that when and where they will be given is unknown, which causes considerable economic supply concerns. We all know how many Bitcoins there are in the wild, we have no idea with Ripple. 100 billion were created, and some number between several million and 99 billion is currently in circulation. To the extent that OpenCoin can issue, at whim, tranches of new XRP's into the market, it is no more attractive to me as a money system than any central bank.

5) The security model of Ripple is untested. This isn't OpenCoin's fault... it just means that Ripple has not been exposed to the wild in the same way that Bitcoin has for four years. Ripple needs to earn credibility with time in the wild. A number of people I've spoken with have grave concerns about the security model of Ripple, but we'll just have to wait and see. There's nothing wrong with experimentation.

In my opinion, Ripple is a pretty clever way to take the allure of the successful cryptocurrency system and leverage it into a proprietary project that will make the creators of the project rich. And that's fine, rich is good. But, I don't see that Ripple has any significant advantage over Bitcoin from a monetary perspective, and that's what will ultimately decide the success of the two projects.

Ripple's competitive advantage rests on the tenuous assertion that it transfers standard currencies, when it reality it doesn't do this. Ripple only really transfers XRP's, and in this way it is no better than Bitcoin, which transfers BTC's... yet Bitcoin is far more proven, widespread, and decentralized.

Ultimately, competition in cryptocurrency land is good. I have great respect for the OpenCoin developers, and Ripple is certainly not a scam, but I remain unconvinced of the system's ultimate merit.

[bitcoinbear]

Why do you think it's not a scam?

Could you first provide an explanation of HOW it is a scam?

Being proprietary and closed source does not equate to scam.

[juca]

Why do you think it's not a scam?

Could you first provide an explanation of HOW it is a scam?

Being proprietary and closed source does not equate to scam.

Don't try to create mischief in the thread. it is clear that the OP is inexperient regarding terms, such as SCAM, PONZI, etc...

he means by SCAM, that is NO good for us. that is something not bringing benefit for the community as a whole. that is not the same as all the other coins, such as bitcoins & co(ltc, et...)

besides, other ppl call it a scam also. how could you classify such EVIL anyway?
http://ripplescam.org/

[UniversalTrek]

Yes, the short answer without beating around the bush. When you thin about it, it all is, I would say the exception is Bitcoin, but if you really think about it, all are scams, the only difference is that right now we are in the profitability grey area after it starts and before it falls...

[juca]

Yes, the short answer without beating around the bush. When you thin about it, it all is, I would say the exception is Bitcoin, but if you really think about it, all are scams, the only difference is that right now we are in the profitability grey area after it starts and before it falls...

omg...dude, if you don't have nothing nice to say, PLEASE, don't. all the coins are the same. ripple is the only project that differs from the others. go read a bit before poluting the other newbie minds.

probably ripple owners will start to pay for ppl write misleading stuff here, for sure. wait and see.

[UniversalTrek]

Yes, the short answer without beating around the bush. When you thin about it, it all is, I would say the exception is Bitcoin, but if you really think about it, all are scams, the only difference is that right now we are in the profitability grey area after it starts and before it falls...

omg...dude, if you don't have nothing nice to say, PLEASE, don't. all the coins are the same. ripple is the only project that differs from the others. go read a bit before poluting the other newbie minds.

probably ripple owners will start to pay for ppl write misleading stuff here, for sure. wait and see.

His post is looking for feedback and opinions from other users, thats what I provided, my opinion. I got into Bitcoins when it first started and was practically worthless, I know what im talking about. Im not saying my opinion about ripple is 100% correct, It could be very valuable in the future, who knows, because all of this is so new, its all speculation, rumors and opinions. - Therefor, no need for bashing others posts -

[juca]

Yes, the short answer without beating around the bush. When you thin about it, it all is, I would say the exception is Bitcoin, but if you really think about it, all are scams, the only difference is that right now we are in the profitability grey area after it starts and before it falls...

omg...dude, if you don't have nothing nice to say, PLEASE, don't. all the coins are the same. ripple is the only project that differs from the others. go read a bit before poluting the other newbie minds.

probably ripple owners will start to pay for ppl write misleading stuff here, for sure. wait and see.

His post is looking for feedback and opinions from other users, thats what I provided, my opinion. I got into Bitcoins when it first started and was practically worthless, I know what im talking about. Im not saying my opinion about ripple is 100% correct, It could be very valuable in the future, who knows, because all of this is so new, its all speculation, rumors and opinions. - Therefor, no need for bashing others posts -

trash

[zhangxiaoh]

Ripple is just here to ry and destroy btc

[Bandex]

The fact that Ripple is less 'wild', and particularly it's accessibility once up and running smoothly, have the potential to make it the one that captures the imagination of the wider population. It's launch at a time of greater publicity generally won't do any harm either. I'm backing it as the one that will really hit the big-time (although may not do much exciting value-wise). I'd anticipate positive impacts on BTC too as an indirect effect.

If you don't like your Ripples, please allow me the honour of putting them to good use for you: rfvAc84GHGybgwkWRXvN13Rt4uWNBvf73C

[BagsCoach]

It seems legit

[CoachCoach]

Proof?

[BitPlus]

Ripple is not a scam, they failed

[anarchyx]

X

[Nutu2000]

The idea that ripple has sounds like a legit one, but whether it'll be a scam or not it depends on the ones that created it. But in the end is just a pyramid scheme for me and those things are scams most likely. )

[rig007]

No it is not a scam. But you can't mine this coin.

[zantafio]

Not a scam, but they missed the point of Bitcoin : it's peer to peer. no central server, can't be shut down.

Ripple is the new Flooz / Beenz . Same fate to be expected.

[Peter Lambert]

Not a scam, but they missed the point of Bitcoin : it's peer to peer. no central server, can't be shut down.

Ripple is the new Flooz / Beenz . Same fate to be expected.

Supposedly they have designed it in such a way that a number of servers can be run, making it somewhat decentralized, thus avoiding the fate of the old centralized failures. If they actually come through with their promises is still yet to be seen.

[cryto4rig]

I don't know about this coin. Will check it now.

[mmeijeri]

Supposedly they have designed it in such a way that a number of servers can be run, making it somewhat decentralized, thus avoiding the fate of the old centralized failures.

It is currently somewhat decentralised, and if they release the source code, it will be just as decentralised as Bitcoin. In addition it will offer much improved fiat <-> crypto interface for all cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin.

[AliceWonder]

I don't know if it is a scam but I do know I don't trust it.

If they would open source it and truly use a decentralized network then maybe I would change my mind.

[mmeijeri]

I find it telling that so many people are so eager to profess their distrust. It would seem more logical to express both interest in the concept and hope it will be open-sourced, perhaps with a willingness to contribute to something similar if it isn't. The fact that that's not happening suggests that people are deliberately bad-mouthing Ripple without wanting to admit it.

[bitcoinbilly]

Thank you!  Finally, someone who makes sense!  It amazes me that so many who defend btc daily on these forums are so closed minded when it comes to XRP.  At the very least, if you haven't, educate yourself.

[prodigits7]

Ripple can accommodate any currency, including dollars, yen, euros, and even bitcoins, making it one of the first distributed currency exchanges.

By creating a multi-currency, security-focused exchange, it can facilitate the evolution of Bitcoin as well. It's a win-win situation for Ripple & Bitcoin

[AliceWonder]

I find it telling that so many people are so eager to profess their distrust. It would seem more logical to express both interest in the concept and hope it will be open-sourced, perhaps with a willingness to contribute to something similar if it isn't.

I'm by nature skeptical of anything closed source.
I've been on the FLOSS bandwagon since 1998.

When software is proprietary, it limits the user and quite often results in financial lock-in for code that is not as good as open source alternatives.

Why don't the developers want to open source it? What's their motive?
Clearly their motive isn't what is best for the users or they would open source it.

[AliceWonder]

Ripple can accommodate any currency, including dollars, yen, euros, and even bitcoins, making it one of the first distributed currency exchanges.

By creating a multi-currency, security-focused exchange, it can facilitate the evolution of Bitcoin as well. It's a win-win situation for Ripple & Bitcoin

Is it really security focused?
Then show us the source, because that's the only way to really know.

Hint - most closed source applications have huge gaping security issues.

[wikiaki]

As long as it's source code is closed to the public I don't want anything to do with it.

+1

[mmeijeri]

Why don't the developers want to open source it? What's their motive?

If they release it now, then people will fork it, OpenCoin's holdings of XRP will become worthless and their business model will collapse. It will also make it more difficult to get a consensus on necessary changes to the protocol. On the other hand, if they wait too long, then adoption may be hindered by a lack of trust and they run the risk of being shut down by the USG before the system (including the initial ledger with OpenCoin holding all of the XRP) can stand on its own. It's a difficult trade-off.

[Oliwill]

this may help http://ripplescam.org

[prodigits7]

Ripple doesn’t compete with Bitcoin as much as it does with existing centralized-currencies and transaction systems. You will be able to do Bitcoin Legal Tender transactions with Ripple. If Ripple becomes bigger, there will be true competition between all those legal-tender currencies vs Bitcoin without banks being shut down.

However, I think Ripple is making the wrong moves to be taken seriously. And OpenTransactions project is doing a better job at solving the issue.

https://github.com/FellowTraveler/Open-Transactions

[AliceWonder]

Why don't the developers want to open source it? What's their motive?

If they release it now, then people will fork it, OpenCoin's holdings of XRP will become worthless

Forks generally only work if they are better, have something legitimate to offer.
There are numerous success stories in open source software history, from GNU C library to Linux to Apache to PHP to PostgreSQL.

But it is undoubtedly self interest that is keeping it closed. Hence why I have no interest in their offering.

[AliceWonder]

closed source also gives software patent concerns.

Are they violating software patents? If they are, a court order could shut the whole thing down.

Open source it and we can both look for patent violations and workarounds if/when they are found.

[mmeijeri]

Ripple doesn’t compete with Bitcoin as much as it does with existing centralized-currencies and transaction systems.

It does both, it has its own cryptocurrency too, XRP, which competes with Bitcoin, which is the real reason people here don't like it.

However, I think Ripple is making the wrong moves to be taken seriously. And OpenTransactions project is doing a better job at solving the issue.

OT is a good idea that is complementary to both Bitcoin and Ripple. It is less decentralised than both though.

[mmeijeri]

Forks generally only work if they are better, have something legitimate to offer.

A fork now could start a new ledger without most of the XRP going to OpenCoin, which would destroy their business model. Bad for OpenCoin, potentially good for the rest of the world.

But it is undoubtedly self interest that is keeping it closed. Hence why I have no interest in their offering.

By that reasoning you should have no interest in Bitcoin either, since miners are in it for their own interests too.

[mmeijeri]

Open source it and we can both look for patent violations and workarounds if/when they are found.

That was the plan all along, but as I explained they can't do it too soon. If it isn't open sourced it will either fail to be adopted by the market, or it will be shut down by the USG. They don't have the luxury of keeping it closed indefinitely, the clock is ticking. But at the same time, they don't have the luxury of open sourcing it now either.

[AliceWonder]

Forks generally only work if they are better, have something legitimate to offer.

A fork now could start a new ledger without most of the XRP going to OpenCoin, which would destroy their business model. Bad for OpenCoin, potentially good for the rest of the world.

But it is undoubtedly self interest that is keeping it closed. Hence why I have no interest in their offering.

By that reasoning you should have no interest in Bitcoin either, since miners are in it for their own interests too.

Miners are in it for their own interests but the development team is about the code and the success of the project.

[AliceWonder]

Open source it and we can both look for patent violations and workarounds if/when they are found.

That was the plan all along, but as I explained they can't do it too soon.

Sure they can. They just are not.
They can promise it will be open until they are blue in the face, until it actually is open, I have no reason to trust them and many reasons not to.

[mmeijeri]

Miners are in it for their own interests but the development team is about the code and the success of the project.

The Ripple developers have a clause in their contract that requires the code to be open-sourced if OpenCoin is shut down. You are drawing a false distinction between the Ripple and Bitcoin developers. It wouldn't surprise me if Satoshi were part of the Ripple team, or, if Satoshi is really a group of people, if some of them now worked for OpenCoin.

[mmeijeri]

Sure they can. They just are not.

Not without destroying their business model.

They can promise it will be open until they are blue in the face, until it actually is open, I have no reason to trust them and many reasons not to.

No, you have many reasons to badmouth them and to keep your real reasons to yourself.

[AliceWonder]

Sure they can. They just are not.

Not without destroying their business model.

They have a business model that is counter to the FOSS world.
Of course the FOSS world is going to reject it.

[Argwai96]

no, ripple is not a scam. it's quite a useful payment system and i hope that it takes off. ripplescam.org is not very persuasive imo.

this imo. Ripple is really useful and I have made alot of $ from it.

[Gimmelfarb]

mostly what i see regarding "scams" are actually just due to victim's stupidity

do a little research and stop trusting randoms!!!!

[AliceWonder]

A good scam doesn't reveal itself immediately.
That's why the source would be good to see...

[Habeler876]

A good scam doesn't reveal itself immediately.
That's why the source would be good to see...

if they release source, will you be happy?

[BarkinTree]

so how is me trusting bitstamp to hold my bitcoins any different than me trusting bitstamp to hold my bitcoins? you see what I mean? i don't feel that safe with coins on the exchange OR in ripple, I gues.

[BestBidder25]

We have to see it. Just now ripple is ok.

[AliceWonder]

A good scam doesn't reveal itself immediately.
That's why the source would be good to see...

if they release source, will you be happy?

That all depends upon what is in the source.

I do know that any financial system that is neither open for inspection nor under federal regulation (like FDIC does for my fiat bank account) is a very scary thing to me.

[Tropical Rain]

Dont get involved with ripple, Stick with BTC and LTC, right now though, BTC still has a long way to go. Too many people are trying to cash in on making something new based on BTC, while BTC can still rise a considerable amount yet.

[mmeijeri]

What an ignorant statement. Ripple is (or will be) great for trading between fiat and crypto, which is precisely what we need right now. Other alternatives are being worked on (Open Transactions) and they are great too. Don't confuse XRP the currency with Ripple the distributed exchange or Ripple the fiat IOU payment system.

[AliceWonder]

What an ignorant statement. Ripple is (or will be) great for trading between fiat and crypto, which is precisely what we need right now. Other alternatives are being worked on (Open Transactions) and they are great too. Don't confuse XRP the currency with Ripple the distributed exchange or Ripple the fiat IOU payment system.

When it is open, then I'll look at it. Until then, I'm too ignorant to trust it because it is closed.

Sorry, that's my philosophy. Been burned too often by closed projects that have ulterior motives they don't disclose to the general public. Last thing I want to do is become involved with one that deals with my finances.

When they follow through on their committment to open the source up, then it may be something I am interested in. Until then, ignorant or not, I have no use for it.

Maybe it is ignorant but that's the problem - without it being open, everyone is ignorant.

[SoylentCreek]

I've been a part of the Beta for quite some time and I have to say that I really dig what Ripple is doing.  Sure, I have a few concerns with some of the decisions that OpenCoin has made, but the service itself appears to be solid.  Considering that I have less than $1 invested into Ripple, I could care less what the price of XRP ends up being.

[mmeijeri]

When it is open, then I'll look at it. Until then, I'm too ignorant to trust it because it is closed.

Fine, I'm not saying you should use it. If you distrust it, don't use it. But there must be more to it because you are actively campaigning against it and spreading FUD.

[LevLion]

Im a super Newbie in this subject and I dont know what is Ripple... The Wiki site of Bitcoin is down in the section of Ripple!...

https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Ripple

Any good links to follow??? Google is not helping me at the time of writing! Will keep looking!

All best!

l.

[Litvin]

Ripple is not crypto money - scam from bankers and government.
Ripple - is not open source;
Ripple - Each Ripple node is controlled by a private commercial company. It is centralized as a bank or PayPal. Not a decentralized currency.
Ripple - totally 100% with the pre-release issued by Ripple Labs, 65% were left to themselves and 35% sold;
Ripple - not anonymous;
Ripple - emission is possible in unlimited quantities;
Ripple - created by the richest states and banks of the world on the money of monopoly oligarchs, with one purpose to destroy and devalue in the public eye the world of crypto-currencies.
 It is very difficult to destroy bitokoyn, because it is decentralized. Everyone who manages the bitcoins client is peer and conducts transactions around, and everyone who picks up votes with their hashing. Bitcomoin group of kernel developers could be arrested, but new developers will just get the better.
 Take a look at all Bitcoin services that were hacked. MtGox. Bitcoinica. MyBitcoin. InstaWallet. You might lose bitkoyny, which you deposited there - debt - but if you kept the real bitkoy in their purse, they were safe. When a Ripple gateway or currency issuer is hacked, because you can only hold BTC and, for example, debt, you lose them.
   But with Ripple, all that's required is a raid-like what happened to Liberty Dollar-to kill the entire network because of its centralization. The update can be ejected to destroy all XRP and transactions - and this will work, because one object has 51% of the attack on the network. This simply can not be done with Bitcoin, if only with an international attack on mine pool operators, and when this happens, people will simply switch to solo development.
  Ripple supporters (for example, OpenCoin Inc employees who speak their own views) point to small default values that have not been disconnected from the network. Of course, this will not happen. But a sufficiently large default from the lock will lead to a crash - there is a critical mass
 States are afraid of crypto-currencies and criticize them. Ripple is not criticized by the authorities, states, politicians and bankers! You will not hear anything bad about Ripple from them.
 For several years Ripple will eat all the main crypto-currencies - this is the black hole of the crypto-currency market, launched by states and banks. The total capitalization of the crypto-currency market will remain insignificant, and the Ripple capitalization will grow due to the exhaustion of money from other crypto-currencies. When banks artificially depreciate the world's major crypto-currencies, with the help of Ripple, there will then be an unrestricted release of the Ripple (because of its centralization) and the owners' funds will also be depreciated with the help of huge inflation, and subsequently unlimited emissions Ripple will be completely destroyed by banks and their governments.
This will allow states to declare crypto money outlawed and never allow to return to private money and crypt.

 I’m an early adopter of Ripple – having used it before it was publicly announced – but I need to point out what the inherit flaws are, and why Ripple is arguably a scam.
I could have taken my free XRPs and posted propaganda in support of Ripple, but that’s not the kind of person I am. I want to expose the world to the fraud of Ripple and OpenCoin Inc – what you will never see on the homepage.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=224365.msg2358207#msg2358207
Why do people like a coin that can just randomly put 333 million coins into circulation, raising the market cap substantially?
Crazy
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1735977.0

[Midoucha]

Ripple is not a Scam but it's a great mockery in my opinion, controlled by Chinese bankers who have fun manipulating the market with small statements. After they announced few days ago that they have frozen a small part of the tokens, the price has multiplied by 10. Ridiculous, Frozen, not even burned. Crypto market has no sense 

[Slimberry]

Just learn one or two things here. So that mean ripples ain't safe holding for long?

[activerog]

Personally, I'm not entirely convinced it's a scam. I might be wrong, but from what I've learnt so far, Ripple seems to have a lot of potential, it'll be interesting to see what 2018 will bring as far as Ripple is concerned, now that it's over-taken Ethereum to become the #2 crypto in terms of market cap - Bloomberg: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-29/ripple-s-ris-is-poised-to-rain-on-ether-s-flippening-parade

There are so many posts saying Ripple is a scam.  Also, some of the adverts say it is a scam.  What's up with Ripple?
If you think it's a scam and have some, why not send me some? rNCxzs1EPCW4XbZQ6vgoerJbKvm61eS588

[ImNewAnDontKnowWhat2Do]

Ripple is not Scam !!!

Why? Reasoning, please.

banks use xrp to wire fiat securely, and very quickly; converting fiat to xrp.  if this doesn't help convince you. idk what will. there's a reason some of the biggest banks, amex, and now Japanese credit card companies are on board.  

[Slimberry]

Ripple is not a Scam but it's a great mockery in my opinion, controlled by Chinese bankers who have fun manipulating the market with small statements. After they announced few days ago that they have frozen a small part of the tokens, the price has multiplied by 10. Ridiculous, Frozen, not even burned. Crypto market has no sense 

This seems contradictory to me.

When you hoodwink people to buy your something .what do we call that?

[mescalito]

Hard to tell, I once dumped 1M XRP for peanuts, the current price is hard to believe

[zzHQzz]

Ripple is not Scam !!!

Why? Reasoning, please.

banks use xrp to wire fiat securely, and very quickly; converting fiat to xrp.  if this doesn't help convince you. idk what will. there's a reason some of the biggest banks, amex, and now Japanese credit card companies are on board.  

ripple is not a scam for investors
ripple is a scam for cryptocurrency world
but since most of the people just want lambo we have what we have

[Litvin]

Personally, I'm not entirely convinced it's a scam. I might be wrong, but from what I've learnt so far, Ripple seems to have a lot of potential, it'll be interesting to see what 2018 will bring as far as Ripple is concerned, now that it's over-taken Ethereum to become the #2 crypto in terms of market cap - Bloomberg: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-29/ripple-s-ris-is-poised-to-rain-on-ether-s-flippening-parade

There are so many posts saying Ripple is a scam.  Also, some of the adverts say it is a scam.  What's up with Ripple?
If you think it's a scam and have some, why not send me some? rNCxzs1EPCW4XbZQ6vgoerJbKvm61eS588

Say friendly No! No - RIP, No - artificial regulation, No centralization, No scam of banks and commerce, No destruction of the crypto world!
It is necessary to create groups and channels in social networks, messengers, chats where the community of free and independent crypto world explains that Ripple is the RIP for the world of crypto currency.
Explain the danger of this scam, spread information about Ripple Labs and related to this company and people who work exclusively for the benefit of the powerful, banks, aligarchy. The rich get richer - the poor get poor - that's the idea of ​​Ripple - Rip
 Together, a community independent of bankers and aligarchy, we will bring these richest scammers to clean water.
This will save the crypto currency from collapse!

[Rouse_creationsHostel]

I think Ripple is not necessarily a scam, but after I discovered crypto, I started valuing decentralization and non-regulated currencies. Ripple is something I don't trust, but I should have invested in it, ... but I didn't.... Right now I think it is overvalued anyways...

[baghdatis1990]

There are so many posts saying Ripple is a scam.  Also, some of the adverts say it is a scam.  What's up with Ripple?
If you think it's a scam and have some, why not send me some? rNCxzs1EPCW4XbZQ6vgoerJbKvm61eS588

RIPPLE IS SCAM, YOU ARE NOT THE OWNER OF MONEY.

[posterhebat]

As I know ripple is way more fast than bitcoin, it has more transaction per second compared to bitcoin or ethereum or even litecoin. Back to days where ripple born, ripple aim and targeteng people on banking and I guess ripple is pumped ny banking people since people know ripple is way more better than bitcoin. Then after pumping, they will sold psrt by part ripple on they have then if ripple is already on peak, it could be pop like a bubble, going down to coin worth of one penny. Just make sure banking people is very greedy in my opinion.  They will get max profit from ripple then dumpen down to no worth coin.

That's all opinion tho, true or false i dont know

[munareal]

Ripple is not a scam .It is a real time gross settlement system RTGS and mostly used by conventional banks.Its transactions are faster than bitcoin and ethereum it takes 4 seconds.It also handle 1500 transactions with a second and at 24/7. Ripple is gaining acceptance in the crypto world and is rank number 2 .

[ridertiger]

The trouble with ripple is that their money XRP is not required for the ripple network to function. Also, any XRP you send may be lost due to DDOS attacks on XRP servers. It is because XRP is a centralized coin.

[sopanbmp]

some people make a fud and also Negatif image to Ripple, because ripple its so success and verry fast reaching to the next level. so do not dubt with Riple!

[gowron24]

Hey, correct me if I am wrong, but ripple is not exactly a currency, is it? it is rather an underlying blockchain system for which ripple fucntions as a token. It has recently been getting attention from numerous banks,a s it is a service, a tool for a specific market segment. That said, it might be an interesting and useful tool for some service providers, but as a currency it fails, as it was never intended as such. Am I right here?
And regardless, the Market cap would have to increase so much considering the amount of tokens that it does not seem like a long-term investment. But that's just IMHO.

[Ahsan Aly]

There are so many posts saying Ripple is a scam.  Also, some of the adverts say it is a scam.  What's up with Ripple?
If you think it's a scam and have some, why not send me some? rNCxzs1EPCW4XbZQ6vgoerJbKvm61eS588

It is not a scam , one of my friend is working on this and earned huge profit 

[iagyei259]

I dont think Ripple is  a scam. Ripple has been in the top four crypto coins in the coinmarket cap in terms of volume since last year. So why do you say Ripple is a scam.

[alexn3620]

I think this is not a skam, but something interesting. Central office in America, half of coins in the founders, unlimited emission of coins.

[DrYe5]

There are so many posts saying Ripple is a scam.  Also, some of the adverts say it is a scam.  What's up with Ripple?
If you think it's a scam and have some, why not send me some? rNCxzs1EPCW4XbZQ6vgoerJbKvm61eS588

To be honest I was very interested in Ripples and I wanted to invest a bit. However, if I see such threads and so many comments that are divided, I am a bit afraid. Too much to lose. It is not worth it.

[see8hjj]

Ripple is not a scam. The reasons people say that is because it is not yet decentralised and technically funds can be frozen on some accounts by a central authority, ( but this is the price of conforming with existing regulation as a money transmission company ).

[StelioKontos]

Well it's a "kinda sort of an anti-blockchain philosophy", so therefore labelled as scam, because it violates the decentralization aspect of 99% of other cryptocurrenciens in the sense it is a "friend of old style banks" way of the distribution and organization of big money flow and transactions. Read more at quora: https://www.quora.com/How-is-Ripple-different-from-bitcoin