RippleExplainedGuide

Version1.983

byAndrewWhite
andrew@onemilliongateways.com
twitter@OMGateway

Copyright2014AndrewWhite

HelloandwelcometotheRippleExplainedGuide.Mymissioninlifeisto
helpmakeotherpeoplesuccessfulintheareastheycareaboutandI
hopetheinformationcontainedhereinisabletotranslateintoyourown
successwithunderstandingRippleandmanyotherdetailsofdigital
currencies.

MymaingoalforthisbookislargelynontechnicalandItrytoexplainthe
mostimportantconceptssothatyougetthemostvaluableinsights
possiblefromthistechnology.Iliketotellpeopleunderstandinghow
everythingworksisnotarequirementtoinvestinaRipplebasedasset.
Therearealotofcomplexthingsinlifethatdonotrequiredafull
understandingofhowitworks.Youcanstilldriveacarwithoutknowing
theexactdetailshowthetransmissionworks.Feelfreetoskipoveranyof
thetechnicaldetailsdonotinterestyou.
Iapologizeinadvanceifthereisanythinginthisbookthatistootechnical
ortoocomplicatedandIhavedonemybesttoreducejargontoa
minimum.Ifthereisapassageinthisguidethatdoesnotseemtomake
senseoristoocomplicatedIaskthatyoudontgiveup,keepreadingand
comebacktoitlater.Takeyourtimewitheachsectionandsupplement
yourlearningwithGooglesearchestohelpgettheanswersontermsor
areasofinterest.ThroughoutthetextIincludelinksforyoutofollowupon
forfurtherresearch.Whenyouaredonelearningalltheinformationbelow
dontbesurprisedifafterreadingthisguideyoubecomethegotoexpert
aboutRippleinyoursocialnetwork!

InmyopiniontheRipplepaymentsystemisoneofthemostexciting
technologiestobedevelopedinrecentyears.Forthefirsttime,payments
canbesenttoanyoneintheworldinanycurrencywithinafewseconds.I
describeRipplelikeemailformoney.Butevenbetterthanthatisthat
activitiesthatwereoncethesolepurviewofthebankingindustry,suchas
lendingormakingpayments,havebecomedemocratizedintheRipple
system.Themyriadopportunitiesandchallengesthesenewoptionsbring
Copyright2014AndrewWhite

tothemassesopenawholenewsetofpossibilitiesforthediscerning
entrepreneurorinvestortoconsider.Thisebookpresentsabriefoverview
ofbusinessopportunitiesintheRippleecosystemandwhatrolesyoucan
playinthisexcitingnewareaoffinance.IhavebeeninvolvedwithRipple
sinceearly2013andIhaveexperiencedallofthedifficultproblemsof
tryingtowrapmyheadaroundhowitworkedbeforetheirwasany
literatureonthesubject.AfterawhileIwasinvitedtobeginbusiness
developmentfortheInternationalRippleBusinessAssociation,a
standardsorganizationforbestpractices,andIbegantalkingtopublic
aboutRipple.IquicklyrealizedthateveryonehadthesamequestionsI
hadwhenIwasfirstlearningaboutit.Insteadofansweringthesame
questionsoverandoveragainIthoughtIshouldwriteaguideforthe
averageinvestororbusinessuserwiththosequestionsansweredahead
oftime.ThisbookisthatresultthatIaddtofromtimetotimeeitherwith
newconcepts,betterexplanations,orjusttidyingup.SoonthatnoteI
wanttocoverthemajorcomponentsofRippleasitexiststodayanddive
deeperintoeachtopicbutwithoutgettingintoallthegrittytechnical
detailsthatmayexplainbutnotbetterinformyouofalltherelevant
information.ThisbookwasstartedinDecember2013inadozenpages.
Overtimeithasexpandedto50pagesandmyintentismakeyou
conversantinthemainareasofRippleandinviteyoutocontinueinyour
ownareaofresearch.Forafinalcaveat,thisbookisonlyforeducational
purposes,andisnotintendedtoprovideinvestmentadvice.

Bestwishes,
AndrewWhite

Acknowledgments:Iwouldliketothankthefollowingpeoplewiththeir
helpinthisdocument:FredLaughterforediting,RippleLabsfor
permissiontoreusetheirimages,andtheRipplecommunityformaking
valuablefeedbackandsuggestions.
Copyright2014AndrewWhite

TableofContents

WhyDigitalCurrency?
CounterfeitingProblem
CounterpartyRisk
ByzantineGeneralsProblem
RippleLabs
Digital
Wallets
Whatare
Ripples
?
Whatare
Gateways
?
Whatis
Consensus
Whatdo
Validators
do?
WhatareCreditsand
CurrencyIOUs
Pathfinding
Traders
Whoare
MarketMakers
?
Enterprises
DueDiligenceQuestions
IntheFuture
ImportantRippleInfrastructure
FAQs
Glossary

Copyright2014AndrewWhite

WhyDigitalCurrency?

BeforewegetintowhatRippleisIwouldliketoprovidesomebackground
informationaboutwhatcurrencyisandwhatishappeninginthehistoryin
themakingwithcurrenciesingeneral.

Therearethreebasicreasonswhydigitalcurrenciesaresoimportant
today:theysolveproblemsoffraudand
counterfeiting,counterpartyrisk,
andsuccessfullyrecoveringfromfailures.

Iwouldliketobeginbydefiningwhatacurrencyis,anditisusually
definedtohavethefollowingsixtraits:
Durability,portability,divisibility,
uniformity,limitedsupply,andacceptability.Someoneelse(Ihavenot
beenabletofindthenameoftheoriginalauthor,ifitisyouletmeknow
andIwillcredityou)explainedtheseinthefollowingmanner:

Acceptability:Intermsofaformofcurrencybeingacceptedwithin
society,moneymustbeacceptedbyeveryoneintheeconomy.This
acceptanceisforthepurposeoftheexchangeofmoneyforgoodsand
differenttypesofservices.

Divisibility:Thisrelatestomoneybeingeasilydividedintosmaller
denominationsfortransactionalpurposes.Peoplewillonlyneedasmuch
Copyright2014AndrewWhite

moneyasisnecessaryfortheirpurchases,thereforeitisnecessaryfor
moneytobeeasilybrokendownfordifferenttypesoftransactions.

Durability:Thissimplyreferstothephysicalwearanduseofmoneyover
aperiodoftime.Ifsomemoneyiseasilydestroyedordamageditislikely
thatitisfraudulentandthereforecannotbetrusted.Yet,moneyismade
fromapapersource,sosomewearandtearmustbeexpected.

Limitedsupply:Inorderformoneytoretainitsworth,theremustbeatype
oflimitedsupply.Themoremoneythatisincirculationthelessitisvalued
bytheeconomy.

Portability:Quitesimplyitisnecessaryformoneytobeeasilytransported
sothatpeoplecancarryitaroundwiththemonadailybasis.Thisalso
allowsfortheeaseoftransactionsothatmoneycanbetransferredfrom
oneplacetoanother.

Uniformity:Dependingonthedifferenttypesofcurrencythatare
available,moneywithinthatspecificcurrencymustlookthesame.This
alsoallowsformoneytobecountedandmeasuredaccurately.

Analternativewayfordistinguishingthecharacteristicsofmoneyisthatit
iseasilyrecognized.Moneyissubjecttothetypeofcurrencythatisin
circulationwithinaspecificplace,soifitiseasilyrecognizedanditfollows
theabovecharacteristics,thenitislikelytobegenuine.

So,inpursuitofthisnewparadigmshiftoffinancesbasedon
cryptographywehaveseenasurgeofrecentdevelopments.

Thechartbelowdescribesmanyofthem:
Copyright2014AndrewWhite

Asyoucansee,thereallsortsofchoicesavailablewithdigitalcurrencies.
Allofthesesystemsarecreatedbydifferentgroupsofpeopletosolvethe
kindsofproblemsthattheythinkwillgetpopular.Inthisebookweare
goingtofocusonhowRipplesolvestheseproblemsbecauseIthinkitis
thebestchoiceoutthereforthemarketrightnow,butIencourageyouto
researchhowandwhytheotherswereinvented!

Sonowthatyouknowwhydigitalcurrenciesexistandwhatthedifferent
optionsare,letsseewhytheyaresoimportant.

Copyright2014AndrewWhite

CounterfeitingProblem

IrecentlygotbackfromaconferencecalledMoney2020thatbrings
togetherbankers,thepaymentsindustry,andcryptocurrencyadvocates,
andIhadadiscussionwithafriendthatexplainedtheimportanceof
digitalcurrencyintermsofhumanhistoryandIwouldliketorelatethat
storyhere.

Historicallyspeaking,ofthesixtraitsofmoneywedescribedabove,only
thephysicalmetalgoldhasallofthesetraits.Ithasbeenusedas
currencyforthelastfivethousandyearsandoneofthemainreasonsfor
thisisthatgoldmetalhascharacteristicsthatmakecounterfeitingit
impossible.Forcenturiesbeforethescienceofmaterialsandchemistry
wasunderstood,aprofessioncalledalchemyattemptedtotransformbase
metalslikeleadintogoldandmakeagoodlivingconvincingkingsthey
couldperformthistrick.Welltheywerenonetoosuccessfuland
eventuallywiththemoremodernscienceofchemistryitquicklybecame
understoodthatthiswasindeedanimpossiblefeat.

Howeverthepropertiesthatmakegoldagoodchoiceforamediumof
exchangealsomakeitproblematicforeconomicreasons:goldcanhave
substantialweight,itsdifficultandorexpensivetosecure,sendingitto
someoneelseisdifficulttodosecurelyorinatimelymanner,andthere
simplyisntenoughofitfortheworldsexpandingpopulationasonlya
finiteamountcaneverbeminedoutoftheearth.Infacttheamountthat
haseverbeenfoundcanbeplacedwithinthelegsofthe
EiffelTower
!
Thusitbecamepopularinrecentcenturiestorepresentgoldinpaper
moneywhichiseasiertotransportanddocommercewith.Counterfeiting
paperbillshasbeenalongstandingproblem.

Copyright2014AndrewWhite

Sotoassurepeopleoftheintrinsicvalueofthepaperbills,thefacevalue
ofthedollarswasbackedbythegovernmenttoredeemacertainamount
ofgoldorsilvertothenoteholder.Howeverasmostpeopleknow,this
createsanadditionalproblemascounterfeitingpapermoneyiseasy.
Famously(orinfamouslyaccordingtosome)in1972,RichardNixontook
theUnitedStatesoffthegoldstandardandpeggedthevalueoftheUS
dollartoanewmeasureofeconomicfitnesscalledtheGrossNational
Product(wewontgetintoallthereasonsforthisbutitisoneofthekeys
tounderstandingglobaleconomics).WiththeGNPthevalueofthedollar
begantobecreatedindigitalsystems.Inthepresentdaythishasevolved
somuchthatsomeeconomistsbelievethatelectronicsystemsmakeup
95%ormoreofallmonetarytransactions.Thishasbeengoodforsociety
becauseitmakesthecostofusingmoneylowerforeveryone(andthats
agoodthing).Inthelastcoupleofdecadescreditcardsareoneofthe
mostfrequentlyusedtoolsfordoingthis.Creditcardswereinventedin
thetimebeforetheInternet(WesternUnionstartedacardprogramin
1921!).Howeverasmostpeopleknowtheunderlyingproblemsofearlier
generationsofcurrency,fraudulentuseofthetoolisaveryexpensive
problemthattheincumbentplayershavenotbeenabletofixandabout
1%ofallcreditcardtransactionsarefraudulent.

Nowfastforwardto2009,Bitcoinwasreleasedwithasolutiontothe
problemofhowtomakeadigitalcurrencyandbepracticallyimpossibleto
counterfeit.

Bitcoinwasasignificantadvanceinthetechnologyofpaymentsbecause
itusessomespecialapplicationsofmathandcryptographytomake
counterfeitingitnearlyimpossible.Thisiswonderfulformerchantssince
thehighcostsofhandlingfraudulenttransactionsiseliminated.
Understandthatthenearimpossibilityofbeingcounterfeitedisthekey
reasonforthegrowthofBitcoinstylecurrenciesonline.Itisnearly
impossibletocounterfeitforreasonsthatwillbeexplainedlaterbutthe
Copyright2014AndrewWhite

mainreasonisduetotherelianceonaparticularmathfunctionof
cryptography,moredetailscanbefoundintheFAQattheendofthis
book.Proponentsofdigitalcurrenciesthatunderstandthisclaimthatthis
makesdigitalcurrenciesabetterstoreofvalueandexchangethangold,
whichisanaweinspiringleapinhumanprogressifthepremiseholdsto
betrueforasufficientlylongperiodoftime.Onlytimewilltelliftheclaim
standsuptoscrutiny.Nowthatweunderstandthebasicreasonstojustify
apeertopeerdigitalcurrency,thesamepropertiesthatmakedigital
currenciesafraudproofmeansofmakingtransactionshasbeen
expandedbytheRippleprotocoltobuildapeertopeerexchange.

CounterpartyRisk

Nowthatweunderstandhowdigitalcurrenciessolvesthecounterfeiting
problemletsmoveontocounterpartyrisk.Wealreadydiscussedgold
andhowitisintrinsicallyafinancialinstrumentduetoitstraits.Theother
reasonwhythisissoisbecausephysicalgoldhasnoneedfora
counterparty,itisinherentlymoney.Counterpartyriskisthe
riskthateach
partyofacontracthavethattheotherpartymaynotliveuptoitscontractual
obligations,suchasdepositingmoneywithathirdparty.Nativedigitalcurrencies
likeBitcoinandRipplesXRPdonothavecounterpartyriskbecauseyouownthe
secretkeystoyourcurrencyinasimilarfashiontoowninggold,youarenot
beholdentotrustingthirdpartiesforyourbalancesheet,andthatisaninherently
beneficialaspectofdigitalcurrencies.Priortonowalmostalldigitalcurrency
systemswerecentrallycontrolledandthecontrollingorganizationscando
whatevertheywantwithyourfundswhichlogicallyhasinherentcounterpartyrisks
associatedwithit.

ByzantineGeneralsProblem

Copyright2014AndrewWhite

Thisbizarresoundingproblemhasa
longacademichistory
thatisquite
fascinatingifyouareinterestedinacademicresearchproblems.Whatit
boilsdownissolvinghowdistributednetworkslikeapaymentssystem
reconcileinaccurateandfalsemessagestocometoanagreementona
matterthatistruthfulandaccurateupuntilacertainthreshold.Foran
elementaryexampleofwhatthislookslike,youandyourgroupoffriends
wanttogosomewherefunbutyouhavesomefriendswithquestionable
motivesofwhatsomethingfunmightentail.Soyousetupasimpletest,if
sixoutoftenfriendsagreethatadestinationmeetsyourstandards,you
agreetogoalongwiththeride,butifonlyfiveorlessagree,yourejectthe
invitation.ThisisaveryinformalwayofdescribingtheByzantine
GeneralsProblemanditiscriticaltohowsystemslikeBitcoinchanged
worldhistorybyapplyingthissolutiontoadecentralizedpaymentssystem
(moreaboutthatlater).

RippleLabs

Firstletsstartwithadefinitionofterms.Rippleisthenameofanew
paymentstechnology.RippleisdevelopedbyacompanynamedRipple
LabsInc.inSanFrancisco.Somepeoplemakethemistakeofequating
RippleandRippleLabstobethesamethingandthatisamistakeyou
shouldavoidmakingasIwilltrytoexplainwhythatisthroughoutthis
ebook.SooriginallythecompanywasformedasOpencoinInc.in2012
andlaterreformedin2013byChrisLarsen,JedMcCaleb,David
Schwartz,andafewothers.RippleLabsownstheintellectualpropertyof
theRippleprotocolandtheRipplenamebutthecodeandprogramsthat
makeupRippleareavailableforfreeforanyonetodownload,use,and
modifyastheyseefit.RippleLabssoftwareisusedbyacommunityof
Rippleenthusiastsaroundtheworldwhoarepassionateaboutmakingthe
technologymorewidelyused.Thesepeoplealsoprovideessential
feedbacktoproductteamsandengineersleadingtheoverall
Copyright2014AndrewWhite

implementationofRipplesdevelopment.TheknowninvestorsinRipple
LabsincludeGoogleVentures,AndreessonandHorowitz,Lightspeed
Ventures,BryanBradford,andothers.AsofFebruary2015,RippleLabs
hasastaffofaround100peopleledbyCEOChrisLarsen.Mr.Larsenis
theformerCEOofELoanandlaterProsper.com,bothofwhichwere
pioneeringcompaniesinpeertopeerlending.Youmaynotofheardof
ChrisbeforesoIwillaskyouifyouknowwhatyourcreditscoreis?Ifyou
doyoucanthankChriswhoin2001successfullylobbiedthe
California
legislaturetoforcecreditbureaustorevealscorestoconsumers.There
arealmostnobusinessleadersintheworldoffinancetodaywhocan
claimtohaveactuallymadeapositivecontributiontothewaylendingis
done.
Asanoutsider,IcantsayanythingdefinitiveaboutRippleLabsspecific
businessstrategies.Buttheiractionsshowthattheyarecommittedto
increasingthevalueoftheRipplenetwork.Theydothisthroughavariety
ofstrategiestoshowthepublicthatRippleprovidesabettersystemfor
paymentsthanthealternatives.Oneofthewaysofaccomplishingthisis
bymakingusefulsoftwareandgivingitawayforfree.Thesourcecodeof
thesoftwarefromRippleLabscanbereadandusedbyprogrammersat
nocharge,whichisanopeninvitationforcuriousengineersand
programmerstomakecontributionstothecodeandexpeditethe
developmentofthecorefunctionality.Thisalsoprovidesavaluablesafety
mechanism.Sincemoreeyescanlookattheunderlyingcode,potential
issuescanbeidentifiedandfixedearly,beforebecomingaseriousissue.
RippleLabscangiveawaythesoftwareforfreebecausethecorevalue
propositionofRippleisthatanopenpaymentnetworkthatanyonecan
useandimproveismorevaluablethanaclosedalternative.Sofarthe
planseemstobeworkingwellandRippleisstartingtomakebigwaves.
OneofthebestusecasesforRippleisforusebycentralbankstosettle
currencytransferstomemberinstitutionsinrealtime.

Copyright2014AndrewWhite

IfwelookatthehierarchyoffinancialservicesintheUnitedStates,Ripple
isdesignedtoreplacetheAmericanClearinghouse(ACH)payment
settlementsystemandinternationalpaymentssettlement.ACHwas
inventedinthepreInterneteraandisamajordragontheefficiencyof
movingmoneysinceittakes35daystomovemoneyanditdoesnotuse
anytransactionverificationlikedigitalsignaturestodeterfraud.Another
systemthatEuropeanswouldbefamiliariscalledSepa.Sepaisanewer
protocolforpaymentmessaginganditworksalotbetterthanACHbutUS
banksdontuseitdomestically.SepaisfasterthanACH,sameornext
daypaymentsisthenormandothercountrieslikeChinaandMexicouse
asimilarsystem.ButwhereasSepaisspecificallyapaymentmessaging
protocolandnotapaymentsettlementprotocolitstillinvolvesalotmore
workforfinancialinstitutionstolearnwhohaswhat.Rippleoffersa
solutionthatoffersrealtime(aboutfivesecond)paymentsettlementand
paymentmessaging(thatmightbeastatementthatlookslikeThis
paymentisforBobsnewshoes).SinceRipplecombinesmessagingand
settlementsomesmartpeoplehavebeencallingitSwift2.0butRippleis
Copyright2014AndrewWhite

reallyalotmorethanthat.Sowiththatinmindletsdiverightinto
experiencewhatusingusingtheRipplepaymentsystemlookslike.

Wallets

Touseanonlinepaymentssystem,peoplestartbycreatingadigital
versionofawallet.Awalletconsistsofanameofwhoownsthewallet
andsomesortofsecuritymechanism,likeapassword,tolimitaccessto
theaccount.Itshouldbeimportanttokeepinmindthatnotallwalletsare
createdequally.Manytraditionalonlinewalletsolutionsallowthemselves
theprivilegetocloseyouraccountforanyreason.Theirareavariety
reasonsforthisbutaRipplewalletisdifferent,itisimpossibleforanyone,
includingthemakersRippleLabs,tostopsomeonefromaccessingtheir
Ripplewallet.Iwillexplainabitmoreabouthowthatworkslaterbutfor
nowletsmoveontowhatthewalletlookslike.

Therearetwowaystoidentifywhoownsawallet.Thefirstiscalleda
Ripplenameanditlookslike~SomeRandomWalletName.Anyonethat
knowsthiswalletsnamecansendpaymentstoit.Underthehoodthe
nameistiedtothepublicnameoftheRippleaddressthatbeginswiththe
lowercaserandlookslikethis:
r3CxMDQFX1Atq1vQN5sqVsjm3rawGSwd32(note:donationstothe
authorarewelcome!).

Copyright2014AndrewWhite

ThisisanexampleofwhataRIpplelookslikeavailableat
https://www.rippletrade.com

ARippleaddressshouldbethoughtoflikeaphysicaladdresswheremail
(orpaymentmessages)canbedelivered.Thepasswordshouldbe
thoughtofasthekeytoopenthedoortothehouse.Inthepriortwo
sentencesIjusttaughtyouthebasicsofpublickeycryptography,feel
freetoGooglethatformoreinformation.

Sothewalletisalwaysavailableonawebpageandhasthefollowing
functionality:wallettransactionhistory,anaddressbook,asectionto
sendandreceivepayments,andasectionofthewalletforyoutomake
currencytrades.Andthatisaboutit.
ItisimportanttonotethatRipplewalletsarenotinsuredbytheFederal
DepositInsuranceCorporation(FDIC),whichwascreatedbytheU.S.
governmenttoprotectconsumersfrombankfailures.
Formostconsumers,thepowerofRipplepaymentshappenswhen
paymentsaresentacrossthenetworkwithinafewseconds.Toanyone
accustomedtotheslowandcumbersomeprocessoftraditionalpayment
networks,thisisanincredibleadvanceinpaymentstechnology.Nolonger
dopeopleneedtowaitfordaysforabankwiretransfertobecompleted,
Copyright2014AndrewWhite

orweeksforacreditcardpaymenttobeprocessedwithRipple,havingto
waitforpaymentprocessingisathingofthepast.Eveninareaswith
modernbankingsystems(likeEuropeandChina)withsamedaybank
transfers,theexistingpaymentsystemisstillarelativelyslowandcostly
processthatcreatesanunnecessarydragontheeconomy.Justimagine
whatkindoflowcostnewserviceswillbecomeavailablewithRippleto
merchants,consumers,andinvestorsacrosstheentireglobaleconomy.
Asfarasmostusersareconcerned,theRipplewalletisalsowhere
magichappensinitsroleinredefiningthepaymentexperiencearound
theworld.Tobehonest,inmyopinion,walletsarenotallthatinteresting
visually,orconceptually,norshouldtheybeparticularlyinteresting.They
aredesignedtobeassimpleaspossiblehencethereisntmuchtoseeor
doinaRipplewallet(withtheexceptionoftrading).
IliketodescribeRipplewalletsusingthefollowingexamplebutitisnota
preciseanalogy.IjustmentionedthatRipplewalletsarenotFDICinsured
becausetheyarenotissuedbyaU.S.charteredbank.Allowmeartistic
licensewiththefollowinganalogy:aRipplewalletiskindoflikeabank
accountbutyouasthewalletowner(accountowner)areempoweredto
controlhowmuchmoneyyoutrusttobeheldbyyourvariousbanklike
entities(gateways,moreaboutthemlater).
RippleWalletsaregreatbecausewhentheycanstoreormakepayments
inanycurrency.Theauthorcantthinkofanyotherwalletevercreated
thatisabletoacceptanycurrencyevercreated,includinggovernment
issuedcurrenciesandprivatecurrencies!Forthefirsttimeinhistory,
digitalwalletuserscanholdanycurrencyeverissued.ThisisaBigIdea
thatmaytakeyearstobewidelyunderstood,appreciated,andaccepted
bythemarket.

WhatareRipples?

Copyright2014AndrewWhite

RipplesareaccesstokensusedbytheRippleprotocolandare
referredtoacurrencycodeofXRP(whichislikeUSDorBTC).The
protocolconsistsoftherulesofhowRippleworksandtheserulesare
translatedbyprofessionalprogrammersintosoftwaretoperformallthe
functionsthatRippledelivers.Moregenerally,peoplemakeprotocolsto
solveaprobleminaconsistentandentirelyreliablemanner.Well
designedprotocolsshareanumberoftraits.Forexample,thinkofthe
protocolofshakinghandswhengreetingsomeone.Thisprotocolhas
becomeinstantlyrecognizableworldwide.Itsnotabletraitsarethatitis
simple,easilyreproducible,andcooperativeinnature.Thebestcomputer
protocolsandmonetarysystemsaimforsimilarresults.
Ripplesconsistentwithinternationalcurrencynamingconventions
(believeitornotthisisinfactanISOstandard!)andareknownbyathree
letteracronym,comparabletohowUSdollarsarerepresentedasUSD.
ThethreelettercodeisXRP.TheRippleconcepthasbeenaroundprior
toRippleLabs.Itwasfirstworkedonin2004andlateronin2011the
coreteamaroundRippleLabswasformedwhothenreleasedittothe
publicinthebeginningof2013.EverytimeyouuseRipple,areallytiny
amountisdeletedtomakesurethenetworkdoesnotgetoverloadedby
paymentmessages.Thelogicisthataverageconsumersmightonlyneed
tousearelativelyfewRipplesacrosstheirentirelifetime.Ripplewas
releasedwithahardlimitof100billionunitsofXRPtoeverexist.The100
billionnumberwasjudgedtobelargeenoughtobeusefulfortheRipple
networkforhundredsofyears,andquantifiableenoughtoprovidea
businessmodelforRippleLabs.
OnceRippleswerecreatedthenextstepwastofigureoutthebestway
onhowtodistributetheminthemosteffectivemanner.Itiscriticaltothe
RippleLabsbusinessstrategythatXRPbedistributedtoawidenumber
ofmarketparticipantswhointendtouseRippleasasystemforpayments,
currencytrading,orassetissuance.AcoolfeatureofXRPisthatasthe
nativecurrency(Ilikethetermmetacurrencybutitisnotascompletely
obviousastowhatthatmeans),XRPcanbespenttosend(orreceive)
Copyright2014AndrewWhite

anyothercurrencyofferedforsaleinsidetheRipplenetwork.RippleLabs
alsosellsbulkquantitiesforlargeordersandgivesawaysmalleramounts
forfree.InlargeparttheirtargetmarketarebankstouseXRPtomake
interbankpaymentsandfacilitateinternationaltrade.

SonowthatwehavecoveredabitofhowmuchXRPthereis,whatitis
usedfor,andRippleLabsroleinthedistributionofXRP,letsmoveonto
investmentopportunitiesinthespace.

TherearedifferentinvestmentstrategiesinvolvingRipplesandalarge
numberofpeopletradethemagainstothercurrenciesforspeculation.
Beforegettingintothevariouschoicesavailable,Iwouldsuggestwould
beinvestorsaskthemselvesafewquestionssuchas:

AmItechnicallyproficientenoughtohandledigitalcurrenciesonmy
own?
DoIalwaysfollowbestpracticesforcomputersecurity?
ShouldIrelyonareputableconsultant,broker,orhedgefundtomanage
myinvestment?
AmIwellversedinthenatureofonlinescams,walletsecurityissues,
andlegalissuesbeforebuying?
ShouldIuseXRPasahedgeagainstmyotherinvestments?
Youranswerstothesebasicquestionsshouldhelppointyouinthe
directionthatsrightforyou.Itdoesnthelptobelessthanentirelyhonest
withyourself,sobecandidandassessyourstrengthsandweaknesses
beforemakinganyinvestment.
Investorsmustbeawarethatthereareinherentrisksassociatedwith
digitalassets.Theftsandscamsareanunfortunatebutinevitableaspect
ofonlineofferingsandtheinvestormustalwaysperformduediligence
beforetrustingotherswiththeirmoney.Evenifaninvestmentisnot
fraudulent,thereisnoguaranteethatthevalueoftheinvestmentwillyield
Copyright2014AndrewWhite

profits.Youarecompletelyonyourownonthisone.RippleLabscannot
andwillnotcommentontheinvestmentfitnessofRipple,XRP,orthe
valueandsafetyofclaimsmadebynonRippleLabsstaff.Duediligence
istheprocessofinvestigatingaproposedinvestment,andthe
responsibilityforduediligenceisentirelyuptoyou.Beappropriately
skepticalandcautiousinallyourdealings.
Atfirsttheywereworthnothingatmarketrates,butXRPhassteadily
increasedinvaluethroughasteadilyincreasingnumberofservicesbuilt
forit.AlthoughthepriceofXRPhasbeenrelativelystable,itisnot
immunefromdrasticpriceswingssimilartoapennystock.Although
currentlyvaluedforlessthanapenny,Ripplesarereallyonlyusefulfor
makingtransactionsontheripplenetworkbutspeculatorsontheRipple
networkliketotradeitagainstotherassets.Becautioushoweverason
rareoccasionsthevaluehaschangedhundredsorthousandsofpercent
aday.

Gateways
GatewaysareserviceprovidersthatletRippleusersdeposit,transfer,and
withdrawmoneybymeansoftheirgatewayaccounts,includingtransfers
betweenaconsumerswalletandtheconsumersgatewayaccount.To
attractandretainusersoftheirservice,gatewayswillinnovateandoffer
beneficialservicestotheircustomers.

Copyright2014AndrewWhite

Asgatewayscompeteformarketshare,Ifullyexpectthatmoregateways
willbelaunchedthattheywillincreasinglyofferinnovativerewards
programslikeairlinemiles,coupons,andpremiumservicediscounts.

Thereareanumberofservicesavailabletopeoplewhowanttocreate
andoperateagateway.Iftheyhaveastrongtechnicalbackground,they
canusuallysetoneupthemselves.Iftheydonthavethetechnicalskills,
theycanuseahostedwallet(moreonthatinamoment)oruse
consultants.Iftheyareseriousaboutgettingintothegatewaybusiness.In
thefuture,cloudbasedoptionswillbeavailablesuchasOMGsOne
MillionGatewayshostedservice.

BecauseofRipplesdesign,anyonewithaRipplewalletcantechnically
becomeagateway.

However,thatisneitherlikelyornecessaryinalmostallconsumeror
investorcases.Whenpeopletalkaboutgatewaystheyareusually
referringtoabusinesssetuptooperateassuch.ARippleWalletcan
becomeagatewaywhenpeopleaddtrusttoawalletyoucontrol.Trust
inthecontextofRipplemeanshowmuchofmymoneydoItrustthis
gatewaytohold?Gatewayswithanestablishedhistorywithagood
reputationforcustomerservicetendtobemoretrustedbyusersthannew
gatewaysthatarelessknownandhavealimitedhistoryofoperation.
Copyright2014AndrewWhite

ThisisanexampleofagatewayloginpagefromSnapSwapInc.

Thisexampleiswhatabasicgatewayexperiencelookslike.

Gatewaysasabusinesshaveafewdifferentbusinessmodelsavailable
toguidethem.Oneexampleisagatewayprimarilyusedformoney
transmission,anotherexampleisremittance.Asagatewayoperator,you
mightbeinterestedinenablingpeopletosendpaymentstoanother
country.Aconsumeropensanaccountonyourgatewayandsendsyou
moneytogointhataccount.ThegatewayoperatorissuesIOUs(more
aboutthoseinthenextsection)totheaccountholderandthoseIOUs
Copyright2014AndrewWhite

appearintheholdersRipplewallet.Theaccountholdercanthantrade
theseIOUsforanothercurrency.Intheothercountry,apersoncan
withdrawtheseIOUsfromthegatewayandreceivetherealcurrency.The
gatewaymakesmoneybychargingatransactionfee.Iftheoriginal
gatewayswebsiteorservicebecomesunavailable,theIOUsdonot
disappearfromRipplewallets.Intheeventofbankruptcyorotherserious
disruption,theIOUsmaylosesomeoftheirmarketvaluefortheIOUsof
currencytheyrepresent,buttheycouldberedeemedwhenthegateway
businessreturns.Theuniquecircumstancesofthegatewaysissuewill
decidewhatrecourseisavailabletotheIOUholders.
Thechartson
RippleCharts.com
containthemajorcurrencymarketson
Ripple.ThesearetypicallywrittenintheformofBitstampUSD/XRPto
indicatethattheseIOUsareissuedbytheBitstampgatewayintheUSD
currencyandistradingagainstXRP.AnotherexampleistheChinese
gatewayRippleCN.TheirIOUsfortheChineseYuanlooklikethis:
RippleCNCNY/XRP.BackoveratBitstamp,youwillseethatBitstamp
USDisalsoabletobetradedforBitstampBTC.Gatewayscansetrules
onthefeesoftradesorpoliciesastowhatisallowedtobetradedbutin
generalalltheIOUswillbetradableforalltheequivalentIOUsona
givengateway.

Aquickwordaboutaddingtrusttoagateway.Sinceanyonecancreatea
gatewayitiscriticalthatyouonlytrustaproperlyestablishedgateway.
Thismeansitisattheveryleastincorporatedandisrunbypublicly
knowncorporateofficers.
Ifthegatewayisoperatedinananonymous
manner,thatmeansthereisnoaccountabilityiftheservice
disappears.
Thisisimportant:inyourRippleWallet,youshouldonlygive
trusttogatewaycompaniesthatyoutrusttobereliableandresponsible
withyourtokensofvalue,e.g.money.Sinceagatewayisnotusuallya
bank(atleastatthetimeofthiswriting),notethatthereisnoFDICstyle
insurancefordepositsmadetoagatewaybusiness.Agatewaythat
makesanefforttobelegitimatehaspubliclyknownstaff,abusiness
Copyright2014AndrewWhite

address,customersupportdetails,and/oraphonenumberwithpeople
whoanswerthephoneduringestablishedhoursofbusinessoperation.If
aRipplegatewaywebsitedisappears,yourIOUsdonotdisappearfrom
yourRippleWallet.TheproblemisthatredeemingthoseIOUsfortheir
cashvalueisimpossibleunlessathirdpartygatewayacceptsthemfor
theircashequivalents.Icansumthisupsimply.Whenitcomesto
anonymousgateways:
donttrustthem
.Youwillknowtheyare
anonymousbecausetheoperatorsdonotmakeitobviouswhothe
ownersare,wheretheyareincorporated,whattheirantimoney
launderingpoliciesare,etc.

Tohelpmaketrustworthystandardsforgatewaysastandardsgrouphas
beenformedcalledtheInternationalRippleBusinessAssociation(IRBA),
whichoperatesindependentlyofRippleLabs.IwilldiscusstheIRBA
morebelowbutfornowyoushouldknowtheIRBAhasasetof
requirementstomakesurethatthegatewayslistedonIRBAswebsiteat
http://xrpga.org
arelegitimateorganizations,operateusingbestpractices
forbusinesses,etc.Thereareroughly170membersoftheIRBAatthe
presenttime,includingpeoplewhohaveexpressedtheirinterestin
formingagatewayforcertainmarketsorareasintheworld.Theauthor
hasbeenelectedtoserveasSecretarytothisorganizationtohelpensure
itmeetstheseexactingrequirements.

Consensus

TheprocessofhavingdistributedpartiesreachingConsensusofwho
haswhatandwhenistheheartofhowRippleworks.Itisareally
interestingconceptandyoucanlearnmoreabout
atthislink
and
thislink
.

Copyright2014AndrewWhite

IfyouarefamiliarwithBitcoinlikecurrenciesyoumayhaveheardthat
Bitcoinworksthroughaschemecalledproofofwork.Proofofworkisa
processinwhichcomputerscooperateonsolvingahardmathproblem
thatinitiallynoneofthemknowtheanswerto.Whentheanswerisfound,
thecomputerthatsolvestheproblemisawardedablock,anawardof
Bitcoin(25atthetimeofthiswriting)andtheblockisdistributedalongto
alltheothercomputerswithacopyofallthetransactionsthattookplace
inthepriorblock.Thisiswhatallowstransactionstotakeplace.In
technicalterms,thissolvesanimportantproblemofhowtosolvethe
doublespendingproblem.Adoublespendissomeonespendingthe
sameunitsofcurrencytwice.Ifeveryonethoughttheycouldjustuse
spreadsheetstocreateacryptocurrency,theywouldsoonfindthat
someonewouldcheatbymanuallychanginghowmanypaymentswere
sent.Anotherproblemthissolvesisreferredtoinacademiccirclesasthe
ByzantineGeneralsproblemwhichishowtocommunicatealong
untrustworthypaths.Thisproblemhasexistedforalongtimeandone
wayofsolvingitwasreleasedtothepublicin2008bySatoshiNakomoto,
theanonymouscreatorofBitcoin.In2011JedMcCalebwasthinkingof
waystosolvesomeoftheproblemswiththeproofofworksystem.In
particular,JedwantedtosolvetheslowtransactiontimeofBitcoin.
WaitingforcomputerstosolvetheproofofworkproblemonBitcoincan
taketenminutesorhoursintimeandthatwaittimeisnotgoodfor
merchantsorconsumersusingthesystem.Whathecameupwasanew
approachcalledConsensus.Ifthemajorityofcomputersonadigital
currencynetworkcouldagreethatatransactionhappenedtherewouldbe
noreasontodoubtthatatransactiontranspired.Theproofofworksystem
reliesonseveralcomputersagreeingthatatransactionoccurred,whichis
calledconfirmations.Afterenoughconfirmationsoccuritcanbe
reasonablybeassumedthatatransactiondidinfacttakeplace.Witha
consensusbasedapproach,transactionscouldtakeplaceinseconds
ratherthanminutes.Therecanalsobealotmoretransactionssincethe
computationalcostofthissystemislow.Thisbringsustoanother
problemthathaslongbeenanacademicpuzzle,theByzantineGenerals'
Copyright2014AndrewWhite

Problem.Thisproblemasks,howdotwogeneralscometoan
unanimousagreementwhentheyareseparatedbydistancesthatcreate
obstaclestocommunication?

OneanswertothisproblemisdonewiththeRipplesoftware,thenetwork
issetuptovalidateatransactionif80%ofvalidatornodesagreea
transactiontookplace.Ledgersthemselvesaredeterminedtobevalidby
deterministicrules,i.e.,theycannotcreatefundsoutofnowhere,make
fundsdisappear,andalltransactionsmustbeproperlysigned.

NextImgoingtoextensivelyquoteRippleLabsChiefCryptographer
DavidSchwartzwhohasalottosayonthisimportanttopic:Thenumber
wasdeterminedbysimulation.Ifyousetthethresholdtoolow,the
consensusprocesscompletesveryquicklybutmorefrequentlydoesn't
actuallyreachconsensus.Ifyousetthethresholdtoohigh,theconsensus
processtakesmuchlonger,butonlyveryrarelyfailstoactuallyreach
consensus.(Whenyousay,"Ibelievethere'saconsensus",youcan't
actuallybe100%surethereisinfactaconsensusornobodycandeclare
aconsensusfirst.)
Theconclusionthatnoconsensushasbeenreachedis
avalidconclusionandcanresultduetopoortopologyorByzantine
failure.Certaintyisalwayswithrespecttosomethingthathasoccurredin
thepast.Itisnotpossibletoknowwithcertaintythepresentstatewithout
observingatmorepointsthanwillnormallybepossible.
Soeachserverrunsoutaheadofwhatitknowsforcertain,applying
transactionsandattemptingtoreachconsensusonthem.Whenandifa
consensusisinfactproduced,theserverlaterdeterminesthiswith
certainty,andthuscanadvancewhatitknowsforcertain.

Copyright2014AndrewWhite

Essentially,theconsensusprocessproducesastreamofsigned
messagescalled"validations"fromwhichit'spossibletodeterminewith
certaintywhetheraconsensushadactuallybeenreachedatsomepoint
inthepast.
ItispossibletocreateUNLtopologiesthatfrequentlyfailtoreach
consensus.TheplanistohaveRippleserversbuildtheirUNLsusingan
algorithmthatmakessuchtopologiesexceedinglyunlikely.
Evenwithaperfecttopology,twotypesofByzantinefailuresarepossible.
One,whichisnotthatuncommon(oneoutofevery200roundsorso),is
alocalfailure.Inorderforaconsensustoeverarise,someonehasto
declareaconsensus.Andforthattohappen,someonemustdeclarea
consensusfirst.Whenthathappens,whoevermakesthatdeclaration
can'tknowforcertainthatotherswilldeclarethatsameconsensus(or
theywouldhavealreadydoneso,andsohewouldn'tbefirst).Soit's
alwayspossiblethathedeclaresthewrongconsensus.
Inthiscase,theserverthatsufferedtheByzantinefailurequickly
discoversthattheothervalidatorshavebuiltadifferentledgerthanitdid
anditbeginsitsresynchronizationprocess.Otherserverswillstill,from
thevalidations,whichledgerwasthemajorityledger.
AmuchlesscommontypeoffailureiscompleteByzantinefailure.Inthis
case,severalserversdeclaredifferentconsensusesandthereisnoclear
majorityledger.Inthisrarecase,thenetworkasawholemustreconverge
beforeatrueconsensuswillemerge.Ripplehasanalgorithmtodo
exactlythis.Serverswillseetheconflictingvalidationsandknowwith
certaintythattherewasnoactualconsensus.Andthattheymustadhere
tothefollowingpriorities:1)Validity.(Transactionsproperlysigned,rules
Copyright2014AndrewWhite

followed)2)Agreement.(Ledgersgetsupermajorities)3)Utility.(Asmany
transactionsincludedaspossible)2isuselesswithout1.3isuseless
without2.

OntheRippleforumrecently,amathematicallymindedmemberasked
DavidthefollowingquestionHowdoesRipplesolveByzantineGenerals'
Problemsuchasnosolutionunlessn3t+1,n=numberofprocesses
inthesystemandt=numberoftraitors?

SohowRipplesolvestheByzantineGeneralsproblemissimple.The
consensusprocessispermittedtofailbecauseitdoessoharmlessly.If
theconsensusprocessformsaledgeronwhichthereactuallyisno
consensus,thentherewillbeinsufficientvalidationsandtheconsensus
processwillrepeat.ToputitinByzantineGeneralstermsifyougettothe
battleandtheotherarmiesaren'tthere,youjuststartover,nothing
catastrophichappens.Inotherwords,keeptryinguntilthevastmajority
ofmessagesagreeatransactionisaccurate.Perhapsnotsurprisinglythis
simplebutelegantsolutionhaswiderangingramifications.

AndwiththatwecanwrapourreviewofhowConsensusworks.Formore
informationpleasecheckouttheRipplewikipagesat
https://ripple.com/wiki
or
https://ripple.com/wiki/How_it_works

Validators

SincewearediscussingthetechnicaldetailsofhowRippleworks,for
completenessIjusttomentionValidatornodesandwhattheydo.

Copyright2014AndrewWhite

TheRipplewikihasthistosayaboutvalidatorsTheRippleprotocol
dependsonacollectionof
validators
whoparticipateinthe
consensus
processandproduce
signedledgers
whichgetbroadcastintothepeerto
peernetwork.Clientsandpeerscollectanddependonthesesigned
ledgerstodeterminewhatisthe
consensusledger
,orthe"true"stateof
theledger.CrucialtothesecurityofthenetworkisthateachRippleserver
choosetopayattentiontoasufficientlylargediversesetofvalidatorswho
arenot
colluding
todefraud.When80%ofvalidatornodesagreethata
edgerisvaliditgetssignedandconfirmedacrosstheentireRipple
network.ThisisanalternativesolutiontotheByzantineGenerals
problemfirstsolvedbyBitcoinwithmining.Basicallywhenyouuse
Ripplethiscomesdowntotrustingthatthevalidatornodesyouareusing
aretrustworthyenoughtobesecure.EvenpeoplesuchasBillGates
havesaidisasuitablesystemforhandlingtransactionssuchthat,

TheresalotthatBitcoinorRippleandvariantscandotomakemoving
moneybetweencountrieseasierandgettingfeesdownpretty
dramatically.

CreditsandCurrencyIOUs

IOUs(Ioweyouspronouncedhowitisspelled,eyeohu)arecredits
andarewhatmostpeoplewilluseonRipple.IOUsstandforIoweyou
(something).Thetermcreditiswhatmostpeopleusuallyuseforthiskind
oftoken.WearemostfamiliarwithIOUsfromourbankingorinvestor
statementthatismailedmonthlybyfinancialserviceproviders.AnIOUis
apromisethatacertainamountoffundsthattheIOUissuercontrolsare
fundsinyouraccount.TherealityisthattheIOUholderhasatotal
amountoffundsthatitcontrolsand,fromthistotal,theyuseadatabase
toorganizewhattheyowetheircustomersandthenumberdisplayedto
Copyright2014AndrewWhite

youistheIOU.IOUsonRipplenetworkoperateonthesameprinciple,
butinsteadofabankingorinvestmententitycreatinganddisplayingthe
IOUtoyou,anIOUontheRipplenetworkisanassetcreatedbyaRipple
gatewayindicatingIpromisetoredeemyouaspecificamountofthis
currencyasset.IfyoureceivedapaymentforUSdollars,youwouldsee
thedepositoftheUSDIOUsinyourRippleWallet.

IOUsarewhatmakeRippletheemailofcurrencies.Theemailprotocol
doesnotcarewhoyouaresendingamessageto,orthecontentofyour
emailandRippleworksthesameway.Thesenderandrecipientofan
emailislikethesenderandreceiverofRipplewallets,themessageinan
emailissimilartowhatcurrencyandhowmuchissentinthe
transaction(themessage,inouremailanalogy).Thefinallessonyou
shouldtakeawayfromthisisthatanIOUhasnovaluewhenitisnot
backedbyanassetthatcanberedeemed.

Pathfinding

PathfindingisoneofthetechnicaldetailsthatIincludeforcompleteness
andisfairlyselfexplanatory.PathfindingishowRipplefindswaysto
makethebestavailablepayment.Thepriceonatransactionfeecanvary
inRipplebasedonthebestpossibleexchangerateontheorderbooksof
Ripplecurrencies.AsthisdiagramfromRippleLabsillustrates:

Copyright2014AndrewWhite

Pathfindingisofmostinteresttomarketmakersandtechnicaltypestobe
abletoservemarketactivity.ItisimportanttonotethatalthoughRippleis
fastitisslowenoughastomakehighfrequencytradingimpossibleanda
partofthereasonwhythatisisbecauseofthetimeittakesPathfindingto
work,afewsecondsistooslowforHFTtobeeffective.

Traders

AnyonewithaRipplewalletcantradethedigitalcurrencyassetson
Ripple.SendingapaymentofanysortusingtheRipplenetworkis

Copyright2014AndrewWhite

equivalenttomakingatradeontheforeignexchange(alsoknownas
forexandFX)currencymarkets.

Eachcurrencyhasathreeletterabbreviation,andeachcurrencytradeis
expressedasapairthatincludesthebasecurrencyandacounter
currency.Eachcurrencypair(USD/XRPorEUR/JPYorCNY/BTC,etc.)is
supportedbyagatewaythathasanorderbookofbuyersandsellersofa
particularcurrencypair.ThedailytradingvolumeontheRipplemarketis
growingrapidly.Atthetimeofthiswriting(March2014),themostpopular
currenciestradedareChineseYuan(CNY),USD,andBTC.

Automatedtradingisapopularchoiceforinvestorswiththetechnical
knowhowtoworkwithprogrammingscriptstomakeatradingbot.
ThesebotsconnecttotheRipplenetworkandlookatthebidsandasksin
certaincurrenciesandtradeaccordingtouserdefinedparameters.Most
ofthesebotsrequireafairamountoftechnicalknowledgeandskillto
setupanduse.Althoughtherearenoalgorithmictradingservices
availabletoinvestorsatthemoment,theseareknowntobein

Copyright2014AndrewWhite

development.Tradeandforgetbotscanbeextremelyvaluableasthey
workforyouaroundtheclockwithouttiringormiscalculating.

Offmarkettradingcanalsobeverylucrative.Findingamarketthatwants
XRPbutdoesnothavetheknowhowhowtogetitisanexcellentwayto
buildabusinessandincreaseRippleadoption.Ifyouwanttoengagein
offmarkettrading,pleasegetinformedoflocallawsbeforebeginning.In
theUnitedStates,tociteoneexample,transactionsgreaterthan$10,000
needtobereportedtotheFederalFinancialCrimesNetwork(FinCen).

MarketMakers

Marketmakersarepeoplewhoprovideliquidity(i.e.,money)between
gatewaystoallowpaymentsthroughapathwayofcurrenciestobe
made.Muchlikehowaroadprovidesapathforacartoreachits
destination,apathwayistherouteatransactiontakestocompletea
payment.Althoughthereareafewwaystobecomeamarketmaker,the
easiestiswithasimpleorderintheRipplewalletforthesamecurrency
betweenthetwoormoregatewaysyouwanttomarketmakefor.Itshould
benotedthatanyonecanbeamarketmakerbutithelpstohavealotof
capitaltomakeitmoreworthwhileforthemarketsyouaretryingto
support.

Enterprises

TheRippleecosystemislikelytoseepowerfulwaves(ha!)ofnew
servicesdevelopedtotakeadvantageofthenewfoundpossibilitiesthat
Rippleprovides.Themostobviousareaatthetimeofwritingisgateway
Copyright2014AndrewWhite

services.Merchantservices,remittanceoptions,charities,experimental
hobbies,andcommoditiesalsoareallpromisingareasforinnovatorsto
placetheirstake.

Anumberofinterestingcompanieshaveformedbasedentirelyonthe
Rippleprotocol.CompaniessuchasFortuneHarbor,Coinst,RippleWise,
SnapSwap,andothersareleadingthewayintermsofinnovationand
provingthattheRipplesystemisaviablebusinessmodel.Companies
olderthanRipplehavealsosignedontousetheservice,mostnotableto
dateisBitcoinexchangeBitstamp.

CreatingorinvestinginanewcompanyintheRippleecosystemisan
attractiveoptiontotheinvestorfamiliarwithmanagingequityassets.
Rippleissonewandtheopportunitiesitofferssolargelyuntapped,that
thedooriswideopenforenterprisingindividualsandstartupstomakea
substantialimpactwithlittlestartupcosts.Ifthisissomethingthat
interestsyouinpursuingabusinessIstronglyencourageyoutodoso.
ComplementaryservicesthataddvaluetotheRipplenetworkis
somethingRippleLabsisveryinterestedinsupportingandyoushouldlet
themknowaboutitonceyouarereadytolaunch.

DueDiligenceQuestions

IfyouplanoninvestingintheRippleecosystemyoushouldbeasking
somehardquestionsandhavehonestanswersbeforethrowingmoney
around.Herearesomebasicsforyoutoconsider:

HowwelldoIunderstandRipple?
WhatdoInotunderstandaboutRipple?
Copyright2014AndrewWhite

Whataretherisksinvolved?
WhatarethelegalandregulatoryissuesimpactingRippleinmycountry
ofresidence?

WhatdoIknowabouttheprincipalsintheenterpriseinwhichImight
invest?
DoIunderstandallthecounterpartyrisks?
WhathappensiftheRipplesoftwarebecomesfundamentallybroken
andcantbefixed?

Whoarethemajorcustomersandtheapplicationsrelatedtoinvestment
opportunities?

Whatarehistoricalandprojectedgrowthrates?
Whatistheexpectedmarkettimingofnewproducts,services,or
enhancements?

Alongwiththesespecificinvestorquestions,Iwantedtosharethislistof
bestpracticesfromtheRipplewiki:

Youmustprotectyourself:

RippleLabsInc.doesnotendorse,qualify,orguaranteethe
performanceofanymerchantorgateway.
Donottrustservicesoperatedanonymously,youhavenorecourseif
theyfailtodeliverontheirpromises.

DonotenteryourRippleusernameandpasswordonanysiteyoudo
nottrustwithyourfunds.

DonotenteryourRippleusernameandpasswordonanysitethatdoes
notusehttps.Youcanusuallytellwhenasiteuseshttpswhenyourweb
browserhasagreenlocknexttothewebsiteaddressintheaddressbar.

Copyright2014AndrewWhite

Donotuseaclientprovidedbyanentityyoudonotfullytrust.Youmust
trustyourclientprovidertobehonest,secure,competent,uptodate,and
perhapsmore.

ForlongtermstorageofXRPorIOUsinacoldwalletconsiderusing
theDesktopClient.
Youshoulduseapasswordsolongandrandomyoucannotremember
it(onlystoreandcopyitsecurely).

Ialsotellmyclients:Idonotwanttoknowyourpasswordoryoursecret
key,youshouldnothavetotrustmetothatlevel.Beingacustodianof
fundscarriescertainlegal,financial,andethicalrisksyoushouldthink
aboutverycarefully.

Usingdigitalwalletsnotcontrolledbyathirdpartysuchasabankor
PayPalisaverynewphenomenaanditisfairtosaythatthestateof
computersecurityandconsumereducationhavealongwaytogobefore
theyarefullyreadyfortheresponsibility.

IntheFuture

Thefuturewillcertainlybringmanyexcitingandinterestingareasfor
Rippleinvestorstoconsider.Inparticular,Imexcitedforthetimewhen
optionstradingbecomesmorewidelyavailable(whichwilllikelybeeasier
withtheadventofsmartcontractslaterin2015).Inmyopinion,smart
contractswillbethekillerappformathbasedcurrencies.Forexample,
byusingsomeparticularmathfunctionsitispossibletoissuesharesfora
companyorraisefunds.

InJuly2014RippleLabsannouncedCodius,anewprojecttoenable
smartcontracts.Codiuswillallowpeopletocreateoffersorcontracts
acrossforanydigitalledgersystemsothattheycanallbenefit.Theydo
Copyright2014AndrewWhite

thisthroughsomeinnovativedesignchoicesthatallowpeopletomake
usefulapplicationswithanypreexistingprogramminglanguage.Ispoke
withStefanThomastheCTOofRippleLabswhoexplainedtomethatthe
designwasinformedfromtheexamplethatbusinesslogicanddata
storage(databasesordecentralizedledgerslikeBitcoin)aretwo
separatetopics.Everywebserviceinexistenceusesadatabasetostore
informationandbusinesslogicontopofthedatabasetodecidewhat
goesintoit.Ishouldprobablymentionacomputersciencetermthatwill
behelpfultounderstandwhythisdesigndecisionwastaken.Computers
runsoftwareinoneoftwoways.Oneisdeterministic,codeexecutesin
thesamewayeverytime.Theotherisnondeterministicwhichmeansit
canexecutedifferentlyeverytime.Whatisgoodaboutthisapproachis
thatitmakesCodiuscompletelyplatformneutral.Anyprogramming
languagecanuseitandanydigitalassetsystemcanuseitsapproach.
CodiususesanotherconceptcalledSmartOracles.Asmartoracleis
anythingthatcanbeaskedaquestionandanonbiasedansweris
returning.Oneexamplecouldbeaskingthestockmarketwhattheprice
ofagivenstockis.AnotherexampleisaskingtheBitcoinnetworkifa
certaintransactionhappened.Theimportantthingtounderstandisthat
Codiusisneutralastowhomyouaskyourverifiedquestionsandhowyou
doit.Youmightwanttomakeacontractonstockfuturesandhedgeon
thepriceofBitcoinandorthetemperatureofDalyCity,ifalltheanswers
adduptothethresholdoftruthaswritteninyourcontractthetermswill
bemetandthecodeexecutes.Thisisverydifferentfromeveryother
systemoutthereandsomethingthatcreativepeoplewillmakeamazing
applicationswith.

TheCodiusapproachtosmartcontractsfreesdevelopersfrombeing
lockedintoanyonesystemwhichistheHolyGrailfornextgeneration
financialandbusinessapplications.Tolearnmoreonthesubjectofsmart
contracts,IhighlysuggestathoroughreadingofGreatChainsof
NumbersbyTimSwanson.

Copyright2014AndrewWhite

NewservicesforRipplewalletsarecomingoutallthetimeincluding
Shift
Payments
whoarereleasingacreditcardthattiesintoaRipplewalletin
late2014.SnapSwapandothersarealsoreleasingRipplebackedVisa
cardsthatisveryexciting.Irecentlyhadausecaseforthis.Mywifewas
shoppingforsomethingandcalledmeupthathercardwasdeclinedat
thegrocerystore.Thiswouldnormallybeaverydisruptiveexperiencebut
IwasabletosendUSDtoherRipplewalletandtheshewasabletomake
thepaymentwithoutincident.Trydoingthatwithatraditionalcreditcard!

OthercoolthingsthatarehappeningiswithATMs.Insteadofbeingthe
dumbandpriceycashwithdrawmachinesweareusedto,Ripplebased
ATMsarecomingthatwillallowconsumerstheabilitytowithdrawand
sendmoneyinanycurrencytoanypersonontheplanet.Thisis
awesomenotjustformovingmoneybutpayingbills,buyingservices,and
andsomuchmorethatinthefutureIthinkthesemachineswillbethought
ofassmartcontractmachines.

Likeanyactiveprotocol,Rippleisconstantlyevolving.Ripple(and
Codius)issuchadisruptivenewtechnologythatitsfullimpacton
businessandsocietywillnotbeknownformanyyears.Thedaywillcome
whenpeoplewillbesoaccustomedtoamulticurrencywalletthatthey
willaskwhydidntIthinkofthat?Inmyopinionwearewitnessingthe
dawnofadisruptivetechnologyasbigasanadvancementasdigitalstock
marketsorpapercurrencies(eachyeartheFederalReserveshreds
7
tons
ofdamagedpaperbills!).

ImportantRippleInfrastructure

Copyright2014AndrewWhite

BeyondRippleLabsthereareanumberofimportantresourcesand
servicesthatisavailabletotheRipplecommunity.Foremostaboutthose
arecommunityforumswhereissuesrelatedtoRipplearediscussed.The
mostactiveoftheseare
XRPTalk
ranbyacommunitymemberinFrance
andthe
RippleLabsForum
.Acoupleofnewserviceshavecomeinto
beingrecentlythatareusefulaswell,LibreTaxfortaxesintheU.S.and
Coinist
forpublicreviewsofgatewayservices.

ThemostwellknownRipplegatewayrightnowis
Bitstamp
,theworlds
largestBitcoinexchange.Thereareavarietyofotherprojectsunder
developmentrightnow.Thereareatleastfourventurecapitalbacked
companiescreatedspecificallyfortheRippleecosystemthatIknowof.
ThereisalsoalotofdiscussionaboutwaystoimprovetheRippleworld
withnewfeaturesandmoreservices.Itisgoingtobeanexcitingfew
yearsforimportantinnovationstobebroughttomarket.

Fortechnicalinfrastructure,Iexpecttoseemoreservicestoenterthe
markettoserveasenginestodrivethegrowthofdigitalassetsanduseful
thingsthatcanbedonewiththem.Myowncompany
OneMillion
GatewaysInc.
wasfoundedin2014tohelpRippleservicesreachtheirfull
potential.

FAQs

HowisRippledifferentfromBitcoin?

Thetwoarecompletelydifferent.ThemostbasicansweristhatRippleis
notdesignedtobeusedasjustacurrency.Insteaditisapayments
protocol.ThedifferenceisbetweenBitcoinbeingap2pvirtualcurrency
andRippleasap2pexchange.Bitcoinusestheproofofwork
mechanismcommonlyknownasminingtogenerateBitcoinandorverify
thevalidityoftransactions.Instead,Rippleusesasystemcalled
Copyright2014AndrewWhite

consensus.ThisfundamentaldifferencewithBitcoinmeansthatthey
workdifferentlyandthattheyaredesignedfordifferentpurposes.Bitcoin
orothercurrenciesarenotcompetitionforRipple.Myunderstandingis
thatRippleLabswantstoseeotherpaymentsystemssettledortradedon
Rippleandnotcompetewiththem.

Iheardthatminingdigitalcurrenciesrequiresanincredibleamountof
electricity,isRipplesimilar?

Thankfullyno.Ripplerequiresnomoreelectricitytorunsecurelythana
normalhighendcomputerserver.ThemegatonsofCO2andmegawatts
ofelectricityandpowerbillsusedbyotheralternativesisnotanissuewith
Ripple.

IheardthatRippleisapreminedcurrency,isthattrue?

Theanswerisbothyesandno.Ripplewasnotcreatedorreleasedas
acurrencyplatformthatusedminingtogeneratethecurrencyandverify
transactions.Peoplethatmineorbelieveintheideathatminingisfairdue
totheequalprobabilityofbeingrewardedfordoingtheproofofwork.
Thereisnothingwrongwiththatopinion.HoweverRipplesuccessfully
solvedsomeoftheinherentandfundamentalproblemsthatminingbrings
toadigitalcurrency:theslownessoftransactions,the51%attack
problem,blockchainsplits,etc.Indefiningtheutilityofcrosscurrency
payments,afundamentaldesignprincipleisthatlongdelaysforpayments
isnotacceptable.Letsfaceit,nobodywantstheuncertaintyofwaitingfor
apaymenttoconfirmandRipplecanmaketradingthosekindsofassets
fasterandmoresecure.

DoanybanksuseRipple?

Copyright2014AndrewWhite

Atthetimeofthiswritingthereareafewbankswhohaveclaimedthey
willbeusingtheRippleprotocol.

Whatarevalidators?TheRipplenetworkreliesondedicatedcomputers
calledvalidatorstoconfirmthattransactionsarevalid,whyisthis?

Validatorsarethelightweightwaytoverifythattransactionsarevalid
comparedtotheheavyweightneedforcomputingpowerin
cryptocurrencyminingalgorithms.Theyarelightweightbecauseyouonly
needafewcomputersdoingthis(insteadofthousandsintraditionaldigital
currencies).Bydesign,RippleLabscreatedtheRipplenetworktorelyon
validatorsthattheyrunandtheyknowcanbetrustedtomakesurethat
transactionsarevalid.Themajorityofthevalidatorsthatagatewaytrusts
mustbetrustworthy.Ifthemajorityofthembecomemaliciousorconspire
againstthegateway,theycanmakefraudulentpaymentsagainstthe
gateway.Thewaytomitigatethisthreatisbyusingcommunityaccepted
trustednodessuchasthoserunbyRippleLabs.

HowmanypeopleuseRipple?

Thereare120,000walletsasofNovember2014.Thelargestgateways
havebetween15,000to10,000walletsthattrustthem.

IheardsomeoneforgottheirpasswordorhadtheirRipplecoinsstolen,
arethosecoinsorwalletsinaccessibleforever?

Yes,unfortunatelytheyareinaccessibleforever.NeitherRippleLabsnor
anyoneelsecanrestoreyourpasswordorrecoverstolencoins.Payments
inRippleareirreversibleduetohowsomeofthelowlevelmathfunctions
Copyright2014AndrewWhite

work(formoreinformationontheunderlyingtechnologies,youcan
researchpublickeycryptographyandmessagesigning).

Iwanttoknowmoreabouthowtosetupagateway,wheredoIstart?

https://ripple.com/wiki/index.php?title=Ripple+for+Gateways
isagood
resource.Iwouldalsolovetotalktoyouaboutyourideaandhelpyou
becomesuccessful.

WhatisaSecretKey?

YourwalletsSecretKeyisyourprivateentranceintoyourwalletifyou
everforgetyourpassword.YourSecretKeycanalsobeusedaspartofa
programtodothingsforyousuchasrunningatradingbot.SecretKeys
arenamedsecretbecausetheymustbeabsolutelyunavailableto
anyonebutthosetrustedtoaccesstheaccount.Ifsomeonegetsyour
SecretKey,theycandowhatevertheywantwithyourassets.Ifyouare
havereasontobelievesomeonehasgainedunauthorizedknowledgeof
yourSecretKey,youshouldcreateanewwalletandsendyourassets
overtothenewwalletassoonaspossible.Youshouldnevershareyour
secretkeywithanyone(exceptperhapsyourattorney).

WhatkindofventurecapitalorincubatorsareavailabletoRipple
developers?

TherecentlylaunchedCrosscoinVenturesisagoodstartingpointfor
Rippledevelopersseekingfunding.Headedbyentrepreneurialstartup
andVCveterans,Crosscoinhastheenviablepositionofbeinglocatedin
thesameofficebuildinginSanFranciscoasRippleLabs.Lookfora

Copyright2014AndrewWhite

numberofhighqualityandinnovativeservicestoemergefromthe
Crosscoinaccelerator.

WhatisthebesttechnicalresourceforRipple?

ThebestRippledocumentationresourceislocatedat
https://ripple.com/wiki/
Developerscanalsocheckout
http://dev.ripple.com/
Forfurtherinformation,Isuggestconnectingwith
thedevelopersontheIRCchannelontheFreenodenetwork#ripple.

IwanttolearnmoreaboutConsensus,wheredoIfindmoreinfo?

TheConsensusWhitepaperreleasedinAugust2014:
http://dev.ripple.com/consensuswhitepaper.html

IdontlikehowRippleLabsdoesXYorZ,whatdoyouhavetosayabout
that?

RippleLabsisaveryyoungstartup.Expectationsforthisserviceare
high,perhapstoohigh.Ittakestimetobuildworldclassteams,and
staffingresourcesarealwayslimited.GiveyourissuesometimeandIam
certainthatyouwilleventuallyseeimprovementstotheissueyouare
concernedwith.

Whataresoftwareforks?

Softwareforkshappenwhenonegroupofsoftwaredevelopersdecidesto
takethesourcecodefromaprojectandmaketheirownpossibly
incompatiblechangesfromthepriorversionofthesoftware.Thiscan
happenforvariousreasonsbutthemostlikelyreasonisthatonegroupof
Copyright2014AndrewWhite

developersdisagreedwiththedirectionaprojectwasgoing.Thiscanbe
eitheragoodorabadthing.Itisbadwhenitdividesthenumberof
peopleworkingonaproject.Itcanbegoodwhentheforkedsoftware
makesimprovementstheotherdeveloperswerenotwillingtomake.
AlternativeversionsofRippleareexpectedtobereleasedinthefuture
andthisisgoodfortheRippleprotocolsincenewideascanbetestedin
differentnetworks.

Whataregoodcommunityresourcesforgettinganswerstomyadditional
questions?

Myfavoriteresourceistheforumat
https://ripple.com/forum/
butthemost
popularcommunityforumis
https://xrptalk.org/

HowdoesRippleLabssellRipples?Dotheysellontheopenmarket?

AccordingtoDirectorofCommunicationsMonicaLong
theydonot
:

RippleLabsisn'tandhasneversoldXRPintheopenmarket.Wesellthe
portionofXRPreservedforbusinessoperationsthroughdirectwholesale
purchasesonameasuredbasis.Whatwe'veseenrecentlyisawholesale
buyersellingasignificantvolumeinmarket.We'vechangedthetermsof
wholesalepurchasingtolimitmarketimpactinthefuture.

IhavesomethingIwanttodiscusswithRippleLabs,whatisthebestway
formetodoso?

Talktothebusinessdevelopmentteamatpartners@ripple.comorthe
developerrelationsteamatdevelopers@ripple.com.
Copyright2014AndrewWhite

Iwanttostartacurrencyissuinggateway,butIhavenoexperienceand
nocapital,howdoIgetstarted?

FirstofallIapplaudyourenthusiasmforRippleandaddingvaluetothe
network.HoweverIwouldadviseagainststartingagatewayonyourown.
Gatewaysarepowerfultoolsandwithnobackgroundincompliance,
regulations,orthetechnicalriskswithusingRippleyouwouldbedoing
yourcustomersadisservicestartingoutwithnoexperience.Iwould
suggestyoufindsomeequallyexcitedpartnerswithexperienceinthe
paymentsindustryordigitalcurrenciesbeforemovingforward.
AtOMG
weuseaveryrobustsystemofmultipleserverstodeploythegatewayfor
redundancy,security,andqualityofservice.Rippleisnotthekindof
softwarethatyoucaninstallonceandyourealldone.Rippleissomeof
themostcomplexanddemandingsoftwarearound.Settingupagateway
onyourownislikelearninghowtoflyahelicopterforthefirsttimeand
tryingnottocrash.Usingenterprisegradebankingsoftwareisnottobe
takenlightly.

Idontunderstandallofthisandthisbookhasmadememoreconfused
thenwhenIbegun!

ImsorrytohearthatbutasIsaidearlieritisalsototallyfine.Youdont
needtoknowexactlyhowatransmissionworkstodriveacarandyou
dontneedtoknowallabouttheunderlyingcomponentsforhowthis
works,Idontknoweverythingeither!

Copyright2014AndrewWhite

Iwanttolearnmoreaboutcryptography,wheredoIstart?

Imgladtohearyourinterestinthisitisahobbyofmineaswell!
Wikipediaisoneofmyfavoriteresources.Anothergreatexampletolearn
thebasicprincipalsisillustratedatthislink
http://www.moserware.com/2009/09/stickfigureguidetoadvanced.html

WherecanIlearnmoreaboutthesocalledByzantineGenerals
problem?

Theoriginalpaperdescribingasolution(backin1982!)canbereadat
http://research.microsoft.com/enus/um/people/lamport/pubs/byz.pdf

Glossary

AnonymousUntraceableactivity.Contrarytosensationalmedia
reporting,neitherBitcoin(orRipple)areanonymous.

BitcoinAproofofworkdigitalcurrencycreatedin2009.Thebenefitsof
Bitcoinisthatitisnearlyimpossibletocounterfeit(i.e.,makefakeBitcoin)
whichmakesitusefulforonlinepayments.Bitcoinsolvedtwo
longstandingacademicproblems,thedoublespendproblemandthe
ByzantineGeneralsproblemthatallowsittoworkinasecure,
decentralizedmanner.

CodiusThisisatechnologyneutralframeworkforcreatingsmart
contracts.Moreinfocanbefoundat
http://codius.org/

Copyright2014AndrewWhite

CustodianThisistheholderoffunds.Ifyouholdthedigitalcurrencyina
walletonlyyoucontrol,youarethecustodian.Youshouldnotholdmore
fundswithacustodianthenyouareafraidtolose.

DueDiligenceistheprocessofthoroughresearchbeforemaking
investments.

EnterprisesincludebusinessstartupsintheRippleecosystem,suchas
newgatewayservices,merchantservices,remittanceoptions,charities,
experimentalhobbies,andcommoditiesallarepromisingareasfor
businessinnovatorsandearlystageinvestors.

Gatewayaserviceproviderthatenableuserstodepositmoneyintoand
withdrawmoneyoutoftheirgatewayaccountsontheRipplenetwork.In
technicaltermsagatewayisanassetissuer.Althoughmostuserswillnot
becomeagateway,thecapabilityforthemtobecomesoispresentin
everyRipplewallet.

GatewaydGatewaydisanopensourceserverthatmakesbuilding
applicationsontopofrippleeasier.Formoreinformationpleasesee
https://gatewayd.org/

HashIncomputerscienceterms,ahashisadigitalfingerprintof
something.Ahashmeasuresthebytesofanobjectsuchasafileand
computesanumberthatisspecifictoonlythespecificarrangementof
bytesinthatfile.Therearemanywaysofproducinghashesanddifferent
standardsareusedfordifferentpurposes.

MSBaregulatedactivityintheUnitedStatesrelatedtoaMoney
ServicesBusiness,i.e.,moneytransmission.

Copyright2014AndrewWhite

PublickeyThisisamathematicaladdressthatyoucangenerateforthe
purposeofsharingwithanyone.Apublickeyislinkedtoaprivatekeyyou
shouldnotsharewithanyone.

RipplestheRipplenetworksnativecurrency,representedbytheletters
XRP.InordertousetheRipplenetworkXRPmustbeused.Each
transactiondeletesatinyamountontheRippleledgerforever.

RippleClientThisisthesoftwarethatisusefulforuserexperienceson
webservicessuchasadigitalwallet.

RippleLabs,Inc.ownstheintellectualpropertyoftheRippleprotocol,
andpromotesRippleswideruseandgreaterusefulness.

RippleserverAlsoknowsasrippled,thisisthesoftwarethatconnectsall
rippleserverstogetherintoadecentralizednetworkaroundtheworld.
Gatewayoperatorsneedtouseoneinordertohavetheirserviceusethe
Rippleprotocol.

IOUisapromisethatacertainamountoffundsthattheIOUissuer
controlsarefundsinyouraccount.AnIOUontheRipplenetworkisan
assetcreatedbyaRipplegatewayindicatingIpromisetoredeemyoua
specificamountofthiscurrencyasset.

TraderpeoplewhousetheirRippleWalletstoexchangecurrencies
(govt.issuedcurrencieslikeUSD,CNY,etc.anddigitalcurrencieslike
XRP,BTC,etc.),functionallysimilartotradesmadeontheForeign
Exchange(FX)currencymarkets.

Copyright2014AndrewWhite

MarketMakersprovideliquidity(i.e.,money)thatallowspaymentsto
followapathwaybetweengateways.

SecurityTheattributeorprocessusedtosecuredatabymeansof
authentication,confidentiality,andintegritychecks.Thereisnosuchthing
asaperfectsecuritysystemonlyincreasedcostsordifficultyforan
attackertoovercomeit.

StellarARippleclonefundedbyStripe.com.Themaindifferencewith
RippleisthatStellartokensareaninflationaryassetinsteadofa
deflationaryone.AstoryonhowStellarcametobecanbefound
here
.

ValidatorsTherearededicatedcomputernodesthatconfirma
transactionisvalidthroughtheConsensusprocess.Validatorsarethe
keytotransactionverificationthresholdbeingreachedandonlyneedto
beusedbyexpertsorpeoplerunningprofessionalgateways.

Walletthedigitalaccountwhereindividualshold,access,andusetheir
digitalcurrenciesinRipple.

WalletVaultAwalletvault,alsocalledawalletblobistheencrypted
storageofRipplewalletsecrets.Thewalletvaultiscreatedinsuchaway
thattheservicehostingthewalletblobcannotreadthecontentsofthe
dataorcompromiseintegrity.

AbouttheAuthor

AndrewWhiteservesasthefounderof
OneMillionGateways
Inc.a
digitalcurrencyconsultingcompany.HealsoservesasSecretaryatthe
InternationalRippleBusinessAssociation,whereheadvisesbusinesses
oncomplianceandimplementations.Andrewhasbeenactiveforyearsin
Copyright2014AndrewWhite

theBitcoincommunitiesinSanFranciscosince2011andbeganusing
XRPamonthafteritscreation.

Copyright2014AndrewWhite