I recently wrote a post Thinking out loud. Ripple - the future of digital dollar?
There suggested that the digital coin may be a substitute for the current U.S. dollar in the world of digital coins.
What would my thoughts become more clearer, it is necessary to understand a little bit, and what is essentially a Ripple.
First, a few words about this coin from the world of digital technology.
As you know Ripple is a product of the Ripplepay payment system. Most interesting, this system has nothing to do with Baccano and has nothing to do with him. So called Ripple cryptocurrency bit strange.
Take a look at Wikipedia:
Cryptocurrency — a kind of digital currency, the creation and control of which are based on cryptographic methods. As a rule, the consideration of decentralized cryptocurrency. The functioning of these systems is based on technology blockchain. Transactions are usually not encrypted and available in clear. To enforce immutability of the base of the block chain transaction uses elements of cryptography (digital signature-based system with a public key, consistent hashing).
The basis of the system RIPL is a register (for eng. ledger) in the form of a distributed database, which stores all data about accounts and transactions of the users. Thus, the Protocol is used RPCA — Ripple Protocol consensus algorithm.
The registry is updated every few seconds and the current in a given time is called the LCL — Last Ledger Close. Copies of the register are stored on the network servers, which are also called nodes.
So hence the conclusion that RIPL is not a cryptocurrency. Moreover. It is centralized! And this is another reason not to consider it a currency from the world of crypts. But about all under the order.
In a nutshell, the Ripple is used for several years in the form of a universal digital currency. That is to say performs the function$. How? Explain.
What RIPL? For much of the great acceleration international transfers, which previously could take several days. Using the Ripplepay payment system, these transfers were almost instant.
Ripple allows users to transfer each other money in any currency —dollars, euros, kronor, Mexican pesos, yen, rupees, and even precious metals such as platinum, gold, silver. Moreover, the transfer takes a matter of seconds.
If quite simply, when translated into another country, an amount equivalent to your transfer and purchase of the relevant number of Ripple coins (stock exchange abbreviation XRP), and at the best price, but on a server node of the country of the recipient, this coin sold for local currency. Thus sent, for example,$ 100 to the resident of another state, from your phone with mobile banking, instantly coming to his account in the form of local currency.
This allows you to circumvent a lot of the intermediary banks through which there is the usual international transfer, and in which there is a currency exchange at the local. And then, this currency has reached the Bank of another country, where it changes again and so on.
Here is an exchange just for internal digital coin. And so she plays the role of a universal digital currency, which is already used by most banks worldwide.
It reminds nothing to you? Right. Very much like the U.S. dollar.
Another similarity with the American dollar, this is how was issued the coin. It just "printed" one-off in the amount of 100 billion pieces. And left myself 60 billion, which is all nonsense for cryptocurrency.
On the face of the fact that this coin if you want you can print more. And this is again a direct correspondence with the U.S. dollar.
And most importantly. Ripple wallets are always under the threat of "freeze" that allows the claims of the complete "centralization" RIPL.
About the possibility of freezing accounts and other grounds on which I consider Ripple a possible replacement for the dollar, I'll write another time.