What is Ripple?
Ripple is the name of a digital currency (XRP) as well as an open payment network that allows that currency to be moved. It’s a distributed, open-source payment system that’s still in the early stages of development. The ripple system’s purpose, according to its website, is to allow users to break free from financial networks’ “walled gardens” – i.e., credit cards, banks, PayPal, and other institutions that restrict access via fees, currency exchange charges, and processing delays.
What’s the Work of Ripple?
The startup behind ripple, OpenCoin, claims that the currency answers the requirement to keep money flowing freely. “Ripple and the Purpose of Money,” a corporate blog post, presents a brief history of money and its transportability, as well as the annoyance of having banks and other institutions obstruct cash transfers through transaction fees and processing delays. Ripple’s mission, according to the company, is to build on bitcoin’s decentralized digital currency model and “do for money what the internet accomplished for all other forms of information.”
Is there any benefit of ripple to Bitcoin Users?
Ripple promises faster transactions and better stability, in addition to allowing Bitcoin more options to communicate with those who use other currencies. Ripple does not rely on a single company to administer and safeguard the transaction database because it is a distributed network. As a result, there is no need to wait for block confirmations, and transaction confirmations can move fast through the network.
Another benefit of peer-to-peer is the lack of a “central target or point of failure in the system,” according to Ripple’s supporters.
Who is Behind the Cryptocurrency Ripple?
CEO Chris Larsen and CTO Jed McCaleb co-founded OpenCoin, the firm that is developing the Ripple technology. McCaleb comes from Mt. Gox, which presently handles the majority of the world’s bitcoin trades, so he’s well-versed in the digital currency. Larsen was a co-founder and CEO of E-LOAN, an online financial startup. Other members of Ripple’s team have a bitcoin history as well. Andreessen Horowitz, FF Angel IV, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Vast Ventures, and the Bitcoin Opportunity Fund recently invested in OpenCoin.
(Note: OpenCoin is not to be confused with OpenCoin.org, which is working on an open-source version of David Chaum’s electronic payment system.)
Is Ripple Similar To Bitcoin?
Yes, in several ways. Ripple’s XRP unit, like Bitcoin, is a digital form of currency based on mathematical formulae with a finite number of units that may be mined. Both types of currency can be moved from one account to another (peer-to-peer, or P2P) without the use of a middleman. Both offer digital security to protect against the danger of fake coins.
Can Ripple be Considered as a Rival to Bitcoin?
Ripple sees itself as a complement to Bitcoin rather than a competition. For bitcoiners, the site even includes a page dedicated to Ripple.
The Ripple network is meant to facilitate the movement of any money, including dollars, euros, pounds, yen, and bitcoins, in real-time.