Is Ripple a Scam?

[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.