[ANN][XCP] Counterparty - Pioneering Peer-to-Peer Finance - Official Thread

[metacoin]

I've done some quick research on the Counterparty protocol and it seems that less than 50% of transactions in the Bitcoin block chain are encoded in OP_RETURN, roughly 55% of transactions in the past day or so have been encoded in multisig addresses (using OP_CHECKMULTISIG instead).

Is there a reason for this other than the fact that OP_CHECKMULTISIG allows a bit more data to be stored in a single transaction?

[Matt Y]

Could anyone explain what Counterparty's purpose/future are given Symbiont? What is it planning to do/be that Symbiont isn't planning to do/be?

Symbiont is using the Counterparty protocol to execute its model of "building the first issuance and trading platform for smart securities on blockchain technology." Symbiont will be one of what will eventually be many front ends to Counterparty's back end.

So there's no overlap between what Symbiont is/plans-to-be and what Counterparty is/plans-to-be?

No, beyond the fact that Symbiont is essentially financially backing future Counterparty open source development, by employing most of the core team and enabling them to spend some of their time working on the extant Counterparty codebase. Symbiont is a business with a commercial business model, Counterparty is an open source technology project with no commercial business model. (And yes, the foundation does take donations, but I don't consider that a business model .)

So, when Symbiont is up and running as a decentralised exchange - it'll be powered by the XCP network? In other words, all Symbiont transactions will run through XCP?

I don't get how that would happen - I understand the transaction-speed/bandwidth(?) of the bitcoin network is too slow to accommodate the demands of the financial markets. Am I something here?

Yes, it will be powered by Counterparty/XCP.

Apparently the founders of Counterparty/Symbiont disagree with your assessment of transaction speed being too slow. Perhaps it's because a clearing house will be built into Symbiont that will allow faster settlement, or something (maybe the Ripple link helps answer your question?). Unfortunately, I don't have a great answer for you.

The Bitcoin network will not have to instantly have the bandwidth to accommodate the entire financial markets right away. It will be a process and its performance can be improved with time. At least that's my understanding of it.

[bitcoinrocks]

It seems strange to pair centralized Ripple with decentralized Counterparty.  Can Symbiont's product be considered decentralized if it uses Ripple?

[Matt Y]

It seems strange to pair centralized Ripple with decentralized Counterparty.  Can Symbiont's product be considered decentralized if it uses Ripple?

I'm not sure. Does it matter if a solution in the Bitcoin space is decentralized when it solves a real problem and that solution creates demand for XCP and Counterparty, proving out the platform and technology? Serious question. Basically every business in the Bitcoin ecosystem is centralized even though they are built around Bitcoin. Every exchange, for example.

[bitcoinrocks]

Well, I thought the problem being solved was the centralization of exchanges.

[Matt Y]

Well, I thought the problem being solved was the centralization of exchanges.

This is the tagline from Symbiont: Symbiont is building the first issuance and trading platform for smart securities on blockchain technology

I gather from that they are going to allow businesses to issue and trade Counterparty based tokens on Bitcoin and that businesses can create smart contracts to facilitate these trades or whatever it is that they want to do. I don't think that the market Symbiont is going after cares if something is decentralized or not because everything those businesses are and associate with is not decentralized. I think they just want cost savings and stuff. Again, I'm not sure either and I would also like more clarity. But, as Robby said in a recent interview, Symbiont won't even be disclosing the market they are targeting, let alone what the specific model is. It is nice, as an investor in XCP, that Symbiont feels they have to be that tight lipped about the model in order to retain their first mover advantage.

EDIT: Also worth noting is that while Counterparty is open source and can facilitate a bunch of decentralized stuff, businesses that are for profit, like Symbiont, can and will build centralized solutions on the technology that solve real world problems while also increasing the value of the Counterparty platform and the XCP token, just like Bitcoin

[bitcoinrocks]

Can Counterparty facilitate decentralized apps beyond tokens and smart contracts?

[Matt Y]

Can Counterparty facilitate decentralized apps beyond tokens and smart contracts?

I'm not sure if either of those things are "apps" per se, but both tokens and smart contracts can facilitate decentralized app models.

[deliciousowl]

Can Counterparty facilitate decentralized apps beyond tokens and smart contracts?

This is why I'm not too much of a fan of the term 'smart contracts'. It's much more than that:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turing_completeness

You can create decentralized apps, etc. Anything. There are just two questions:

• Are you willing to pay the fee?
• Do you know how to write the code?

[pankogulo]

Counterparty community update is live at http://counterparty.io/news/counterparty-update-may-1/ with a monthly recap

[mmortal03]

I can't seems to make it work... I installed it on windows 8 and change the settings as follow:

under Counterparty server I selected  counterwallet.io

under wallet I selected Bitcoin core with following options

host= 127.0.0.1
port = 8332
user= "myuser from bitcoin.conf"
password= "mypassword from bitcoin.conf"

I launch bitcoin in cmd -> bitcoin-qt.exe -server

once bitcoin-qt is synchronized I open counterparty GUI

it briefly open but it never goes further than loading

is the issue windows 8 or m'i doing something wrong?

thanks

P.S: the all process look a little complicated to me.
 

You configuration seems good. The GUI is still in BETA version and was tested only in Windows 7. I will test it with Windows 8 asap.
It is also planned to add a wrapper for a lightweight wallet compatible with Counterwallet.

Does the desktop wallet require downloading the entire BTC blockchain?

Generally yes but no if you are using a distant Counterparty server, and a local Btcwallet connected to a distant Btcd.

I've actually been in contact with JahPowerBit about similar issues, and I'm on Windows 7, so I think it just needs more work. I've got to do some more testing myself and get back with him.

[bitcoinrocks]

If Symbiont is using Ripple to make its Counterparty smart contracts application faster, why not just use Ripple's smart contracts framework Codius and skip Bitcoin and Counterparty entirely?

[deliciousowl]

If Symbiont is using Ripple to make its Counterparty smart contracts application faster, why not just use Ripple's smart contracts framework Codius and skip Bitcoin and Counterparty entirely?

Then it's not trustless.

[bitcoinrocks]

If Symbiont is using Ripple to make its Counterparty smart contracts application faster, why not just use Ripple's smart contracts framework Codius and skip Bitcoin and Counterparty entirely?

Then it's not trustless.

But is it trustless anyway since it will incorporate Ripple?

[deliciousowl]

If Symbiont is using Ripple to make its Counterparty smart contracts application faster, why not just use Ripple's smart contracts framework Codius and skip Bitcoin and Counterparty entirely?

Then it's not trustless.

But is it trustless anyway since it will incorporate Ripple?

It's not incorporating Ripple, it's a gateway. 

[bitcoinrocks]

WTB XCP

Please PM me with offers in large or small quantities.

How can this type of transaction be made safe for both parties?

[Matt Y]

WTB XCP

Please PM me with offers in large or small quantities.

How can this type of transaction be made safe for both parties?

User Maxmint is a good escrow.

[stereotype]

WTB XCP

Please PM me with offers in large or small quantities.

How can this type of transaction be made safe for both parties?

User Maxmint is a good escrow.

I can vouch for Maxmint. Done about 5 trades through him.

Composes the catchiest tunes as well.....    http://hellomaxmin.com/songs/taking-my-mind/

[bitcoinrocks]

There's no safer way than to go through a forum member?

[Matt Y]

There's no safer way than to go through a forum member?

You can probably get more than you need by simply placing an order on Poloni.