From what you've been telling me, this is not the case. But then we have Jed coming on and saying that yes Ripple does function as a unit of currency like Bitcoin. Which one is it? If the people involved with the project cannot even present a consistent description how can we have confidence in the system?
Of course it would be currency and with fixed/dwindling supply (after distribution process completes), it would be as good a store of value as bitcoin. Obviously Joel is just doing the necessary PR to appease the 'premine' outrage.
If I had such a good PR/image skills I would have my own startup soon
