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

[xnova]

Unicode print issues should be fixed in Windows.

Guys, I just pushed out an overhaul of the Unicode handling code in Windows to both develop and master. Especially if you use Windows, please update your git repo to the newest. Note that you shouldn't have to run powershell or anything like that...should work out of the box.

Also, for counterpartyd_build, I updated setup.py to make it more user friendly to do future updates of counterpartyd. All you have to do is run "setup.py update" instead of having to manually issue the git pull commands. Feel free to pull the newest counterpartyd_build commits from github as well. More info about this feature is at: http://counterpartyd-build.readthedocs.org/en/latest/BuildingFromSource.html#id4

[Mrrr]

We thought a lot about whether marketing could be done via bounties, but we concluded that this would quickly become unmanageable, as a real marketing push would require an absurd number of bounties. Since the marketer will essentially be salaried, community contributions are harder to incorporate into our funding plan, as they are impossible to determine beforehand. The Counterparty team, then, will be paying whomever we select regardless, but if community members are interested in donating, they can send BTC and XCP to this address: 1CWq53K95AZVkCPGGW7eEwivBvNzGVGH94

Cmon cough it up already. The man asks for a contribution: give it to him. I put a measly 10% of my burn. Its feeling very alone.

[trilli0n]

|     1.351     |    BTC     |    0.0045   |   BTC/XCP bid    |       0.0        |      0.0001      |    293    | 30f5918f95f7a0bb8334838a078fce7f1aec40dda79bf3794c7dccfffe3e3665
|   8.85181818  |    XCP     |    0.0045   |   BTC/XCP ask    |       0.0        |      0.0001      |    925    | ff462bdeca74370cf28da51088e7ec95a7c375387e260d8d727f74e61b75b8b4


I did a "counterpartyd market" and see that there seem to be two orders with the same price, but they're not getting matched. I suspect the amounts do not fully match up, however I can't see that in my windows client.

Is there a way to see the price more completely using the windows client? Right now it's impossible to know if the price is 0.00451 or 0.00459...

[IamNotSure]

Unicode print issues should be fixed in Windows.

Guys, I just pushed out an overhaul of the Unicode handling code in Windows to both develop and master. Especially if you use Windows, please update your git repo to the newest. Note that you shouldn't have to run powershell or anything like that...should work out of the box.

Also, for counterpartyd_build, I updated setup.py to make it more user friendly to do future updates of counterpartyd. All you have to do is run "setup.py update" instead of having to manually issue the git pull commands. Feel free to pull the newest counterpartyd_build commits from github as well. More info about this feature is at: http://counterpartyd-build.readthedocs.org/en/latest/BuildingFromSource.html#id4

Xnova you're the best. Can't wait to try this one !

[trilli0n]

Unicode print issues should be fixed in Windows.

Guys, I just pushed out an overhaul of the Unicode handling code in Windows to both develop and master. Especially if you use Windows, please update your git repo to the newest.

Great, it worked. Feeds visible now too, nice. And actually, it worked already in the repo I downloaded 3 hours ago!

[trilli0n]

|     1.351     |    BTC     |    0.0045   |   BTC/XCP bid    |       0.0        |      0.0001      |    293    | 30f5918f95f7a0bb8334838a078fce7f1aec40dda79bf3794c7dccfffe3e3665
|   8.85181818  |    XCP     |    0.0045   |   BTC/XCP ask    |       0.0        |      0.0001      |    925    | ff462bdeca74370cf28da51088e7ec95a7c375387e260d8d727f74e61b75b8b4


I did a "counterpartyd market" and see that there seem to be two orders with the same price, but they're not getting matched. I suspect the amounts do not fully match up, however I can't see that in my windows client.

Is there a way to see the price more completely using the windows client? Right now it's impossible to know if the price is 0.00451 or 0.00459...

http://blockscan.com/order_book.aspx

One is 0.004519 and one is 0.004503

Yeah the client should really have the default 8 figures of precision.

And perhaps an easier way to match the order. To take this order in full, currently I have to calculate 8.85181818 x 0.004519, a bit of a pain.

[PhantomPhreak]

|     1.351     |    BTC     |    0.0045   |   BTC/XCP bid    |       0.0        |      0.0001      |    293    | 30f5918f95f7a0bb8334838a078fce7f1aec40dda79bf3794c7dccfffe3e3665
|   8.85181818  |    XCP     |    0.0045   |   BTC/XCP ask    |       0.0        |      0.0001      |    925    | ff462bdeca74370cf28da51088e7ec95a7c375387e260d8d727f74e61b75b8b4


I did a "counterpartyd market" and see that there seem to be two orders with the same price, but they're not getting matched. I suspect the amounts do not fully match up, however I can't see that in my windows client.

Is there a way to see the price more completely using the windows client? Right now it's impossible to know if the price is 0.00451 or 0.00459...

http://blockscan.com/order_book.aspx

One is 0.004519 and one is 0.004503

Yeah the client should really have the default 8 figures of precision.

The fee of the bid doesn't satisfy the requirements of the ask.

Prices don't have eight figures of precision, but rather twenty-eight.

[PhantomPhreak]

this is a very rare, irreversible bug in the order matching (normally bugs like this are reversible, but not BTCpay

Can you perhaps explain what exactly the issue is? Or is it buried somewhere a couple of pages back in the forum?

Sure:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=395761.msg4957701#msg4957701

Basically, the rounding code for master and develop was different, so BTCpays for one did not match the other, and went to the wrong accounts (still Counterparty accounts though). As I understand, such a thing will probably almost never happen in the future again, because BTCpay (the only protocol-level irreversible part of Counterparty, besides proof-of-burn) and the rounding issues have been addressed permanently. Note I said almost never.

This event is sort of like Counterparty's version of Bitcoin's infamous blockchain fork. (though since we don't have mining, the analogy is tenuous). [Devs correct me on this]. Fortunately it happened early on, as opposed to when it happened for bitcoin.

I don't get it. When I ran "counterpartyd market" I saw that I had a match for my order along with an order match id. So I did a "counterpartyd btcpay --order-match-id <the id>". A bit later, I did a "counterpartyd wallet" and saw the XCP nicely reported. Except for the little, quite disturbing fact that they were not actually in my wallet at all.

So "counterpartyd wallet" has been lying about the amount of XCP in my wallet. How could that happen? Even for alpha software, that's a bit unsettling.

And also, a comment to this being a "rounding error". The hashes are just large integer numbers. Rounding does not apply at all, at least not the rounding of the floating-point variety. If the devs say it's a rounding issue, do they really understand the issue at all? I'd really like to know more about this issue, if only to know if it might still be there. Right now I am not confident it's resolved, to be honest.

EDIT: not implying the devs don't know what they're doing. What they did was brilliant - just commenting on this one issue.

Your client thought that there was a match where there wasn't one, because it was using a bad rounding algorithm elsewhere. Every client calculates everything itself, so order matching, for instance has to be entirely deterministic.

[PhantomPhreak]

The fee of the bid doesn't satisfy the requirements of the ask.

I think in this case the fees match. Everything checks out: the bid is for .004503 and the ask is for .004519 so they shouldn't cross.

Sure. That, too.

[trilli0n]

Your client thought that there was a match where there wasn't one, because it was using a bad rounding algorithm elsewhere. Every client calculates everything itself, so order matching, for instance has to be entirely deterministic.

I was the one whose BTC were lost due to this bug, and since you promised to reimburse, it'd be great if you could attend to that 

What was being rounded off wrongly?

[BldSwtTrs]

Can we already make CFD?

I am thinking that the possibility of shorting altcoins would be very interesting!

I think there is huge demand which is not fullfill by the market right know and that could be the killer app of the protocol.

[freedomfighter]

CP Team,

What are the expected next stage milestones for the XCP platform and currency (by concept and appx target dates)? for example: friendly to use client, the next version of the decentralized exchange? what's more after that? can you briefly describe plans? it will also be great for the "spreading the word" aspect. Thanks

[trilli0n]

Oh SHEESH


Tx    Source    Buy    Sell    Price    Expiration   F_Req   F_Prov    Remarks
3256   1Mf2abNSv7jzwsjgkrf2k3LTMyEw96Us3H   1000 XCP   1.320 BTC   0.00132 BTC/XCP   (4713|5000)   0   0.0001   Invalid: cancelled


Don't tell me my cancellation of this order did not work either, and that lost 1.320 BTC!

PhantomPhreak, can you please have a look? Now I REALLY start to get more than a little worried. We're talking about serious money now. Did the cancellation also send my btc into a black hole? Tell me it isn't so...

[trilli0n]

CP Team,

What are the expected next stage milestones for the XCP platform and currency (by concept and appx target dates)? for example: friendly to use client, the next version of the decentralized exchange? what's more after that? can you briefly describe plans? it will also be great for the "spreading the word" aspect. Thanks

Spread the word now, and you'll kill the platform. It's clearly still very immature. It seems I lost over a thousand USD already, poof into a black hole due to bugs. This software really needs to be way more stable and proof it's stable. The bugs where btc just disappear into the void, while reporting my wallet as having the order happily filled simply indicates that core parts of the software are not reliable. You don't want to announce it to the big public at this point, you really don't.

[BldSwtTrs]

Can we already make CFD?

I am thinking that the possibility of shorting altcoins would be very interesting!

I think there is huge demand which is not fullfill by the market right know and that could be the killer app of the protocol.

Yes CFDs are currently implemented.

Would you like to test them out? The test Super Bowl bet between me and jimhsu patched a few bugs. If someone comes up with interesting terms for a short-term bet, I'm up for taking the other side.

I think probably the killer use case for CFDs is being able to short XCP/USD. This would essentially allow you to keep your wealth in XCP but have no exposure to XCP price fluctuations.

Sorry I can't, I haven't install counterpartyd yet, I am waiting the GUI.

I don't think a lot of people will be ready to keep their wealth in XCP, but for those who want to keep it in BTC (which makes quite a lot of people) be able to short BTC/USD would be indeed a revolutionary perspective.

[jimhsu]

Oh SHEESH


Tx    Source    Buy    Sell    Price    Expiration   F_Req   F_Prov    Remarks
3256   1Mf2abNSv7jzwsjgkrf2k3LTMyEw96Us3H   1000 XCP   1.320 BTC   0.00132 BTC/XCP   (4713|5000)   0   0.0001   Invalid: cancelled


Don't tell me my cancellation of this order did not work either, and that lost 1.320 BTC!

PhantomPhreak, can you please have a look? Now I REALLY start to get more than a little worried. We're talking about serious money now. Did the cancellation also send my btc into a black hole? Tell me it isn't so...

Orders that are for XCP for BTC shouldn't reserve any BTC - you use BTCpay for that. Also I obviously don't see 1.32 BTC going out from your account.

As for reliability - these are growing pains for any alpha-quality software (as Bitcoin itself was for something like 2 years). The difference is that other devs choose to cover up the issues; the counterparty team tackles them head on. It doesn't help that 99% of coins out there are basically forks of Bitcoin and Litecoin.

[cityglut]

Oh SHEESH


Tx    Source    Buy    Sell    Price    Expiration   F_Req   F_Prov    Remarks
3256   1Mf2abNSv7jzwsjgkrf2k3LTMyEw96Us3H   1000 XCP   1.320 BTC   0.00132 BTC/XCP   (4713|5000)   0   0.0001   Invalid: cancelled


Don't tell me my cancellation of this order did not work either, and that lost 1.320 BTC!

PhantomPhreak, can you please have a look? Now I REALLY start to get more than a little worried. We're talking about serious money now. Did the cancellation also send my btc into a black hole? Tell me it isn't so...

Those who are investing in a project should do their due diligence. We made no secret about the state of the code; if you read the "Announcement" thread, you would have seen the following disclaimer:

The code being released here is of alpha-quality and under heavy development. You should expect to encounter significant bugs when using it. It is even possible that a bug might cause you might lose some money. The Counterparty team will do everything in its power to prevent this from happening, but this technology is very new, and the implementation is not yet well-tested. In particular, we may at some point have to change the Counterparty protocol in a not backwards-compatible way, if such a change is necessary to fix a bad bug or an exploit. As always, don't invest more than you can afford to lose.

Nevertheless, we have decided to compensate users for this bug, given its peculiar nature. We are all, however, extremely busy, and so if we don't get back to you right away, rest assured it is not because we are not "sticking to our promise", but because we are, among other things, trying to make sure that fewer serious bugs pop up in the future.

Thank you for your patience.

[jimhsu]

Oh SHEESH


Tx    Source    Buy    Sell    Price    Expiration   F_Req   F_Prov    Remarks
3256   1Mf2abNSv7jzwsjgkrf2k3LTMyEw96Us3H   1000 XCP   1.320 BTC   0.00132 BTC/XCP   (4713|5000)   0   0.0001   Invalid: cancelled


Don't tell me my cancellation of this order did not work either, and that lost 1.320 BTC!

PhantomPhreak, can you please have a look? Now I REALLY start to get more than a little worried. We're talking about serious money now. Did the cancellation also send my btc into a black hole? Tell me it isn't so...

Those who are investing in a project should do their due diligence. We made no secret about the state of the code; if you read the "Announcement" thread, you would have seen the following disclaimer:

The code being released here is of alpha-quality and under heavy development. You should expect to encounter significant bugs when using it. It is even possible that a bug might cause you might lose some money. The Counterparty team will do everything in its power to prevent this from happening, but this technology is very new, and the implementation is not yet well-tested. In particular, we may at some point have to change the Counterparty protocol in a not backwards-compatible way, if such a change is necessary to fix a bad bug or an exploit. As always, don't invest more than you can afford to lose.

Nevertheless, we have decided to compensate users for this bug, given its peculiar natures. We are all, however, extremely busy, and so if we don't get back to you right away, rest assured it is not because we are not "sticking to our promise", but because we are, among other things, trying to make sure that fewer serious bugs pop up in the future.

Thank you for your patience.

I'm also extremely busy with real work (I work in biological research, if you are wondering), but +1

[cityglut]

CP Team,

What are the expected next stage milestones for the XCP platform and currency (by concept and appx target dates)? for example: friendly to use client, the next version of the decentralized exchange? what's more after that? can you briefly describe plans? it will also be great for the "spreading the word" aspect. Thanks

freedomfighter, if you could PM me with a list of questions, I would be happy to forward them to the devs so we can work on some answers. Thanks.

[trilli0n]

Oh SHEESH


Tx    Source    Buy    Sell    Price    Expiration   F_Req   F_Prov    Remarks
3256   1Mf2abNSv7jzwsjgkrf2k3LTMyEw96Us3H   1000 XCP   1.320 BTC   0.00132 BTC/XCP   (4713|5000)   0   0.0001   Invalid: cancelled


Don't tell me my cancellation of this order did not work either, and that lost 1.320 BTC!

PhantomPhreak, can you please have a look? Now I REALLY start to get more than a little worried. We're talking about serious money now. Did the cancellation also send my btc into a black hole? Tell me it isn't so...

Those who are investing in a project should do their due diligence. We made no secret about the state of the code; if you read the "Announcement" thread, you would have seen the following disclaimer:

The code being released here is of alpha-quality and under heavy development. You should expect to encounter significant bugs when using it. It is even possible that a bug might cause you might lose some money. The Counterparty team will do everything in its power to prevent this from happening, but this technology is very new, and the implementation is not yet well-tested. In particular, we may at some point have to change the Counterparty protocol in a not backwards-compatible way, if such a change is necessary to fix a bad bug or an exploit. As always, don't invest more than you can afford to lose.

Nevertheless, we have decided to compensate users for this bug, given its peculiar nature. We are all, however, extremely busy, and so if we don't get back to you right away, rest assured it is not because we are not "sticking to our promise", but because we are, among other things, trying to make sure that fewer serious bugs pop up in the future.

Thank you for your patience.

Sure, noted, but...

The Counterparty Team is looking to pay someone to do marketing

We have been contacted by several members of the community who are interested in helping out with Counterparty's marketing. It seems to us incongruous with Counterparty's 'project principles' to choose somebody without first telling the entire community that we are looking to pay someone to do PR for Counterparty. For now, we will be paying our marketer month-to-month (in XCP and BTC). We will start considering people now, and will stop considering them within three days (i.e. by to February 9); we will make our decision within seven days (i.e. by February 13), but reserve the right to decide
any time before then.

Are you sure now is a good time to market this "alpha quality software, under heavy development"? Why not wait a bit and let the platform proof its stability first before it's invaded by hundreds or even thousands of users? I really don't get this, you're risking the entire platform. Again a bug like this with 100 times the number of users, and XCP is dead.