Quote from: misterbigg on May 31, 2013, 03:38:01 PM

Quote from: nameface on May 31, 2013, 03:24:12 PM

Bigg, you say you hold BTC, but you also say PoW is a big waste (and, correct me if I'm wrong, I'm pretty sure you've stated the opinion Bitcoin will be a failure). Do you have any real use for BTC? Are these holdings based on pure speculation that BTC price will go up in the short term?

Whoa...failure? No no...I never said Bitcoin would be a failure. Quite the contrary Bitcoin will be, and already is, a great success! Bitcoin will always fulfill a useful function for as long as it remains the king of proof of work based digital currency.

Proof of work is only wasteful in the sense that Ripple uses a different solution which doesn't require mining. However, the mining in Bitcoin serves a function which is to decentralize the distribution of newly minted coins. Is it possible to distribute coins in a decentralized fashion without proof of work? I'm not so sure that it is. I think this was the genius of Bitcoin.

Ripple solves the problem a different way, and quite elegantly at that. They give themselves all the XRP so that they can fund the company and the software's development. The sequestration effect of ledger reserves allows them to give away billions of XRP without flooding the market (since reserves can't be spent). Ripple provides additional functionality that makes the network useful without having to hoard XRP. The only downside is that it could get people upset.

My main use for BTC is to protect my savings from confiscation and the effects of monetary inflation.

What's elegant about keeping as much as you can get away with? It's profit maximizing for certain. Elegant though?

Anyway, just to reiterate, Ripple could have and still could raise capital like any other company through a variety of mechanisms that wouldn't require them to keep all the XRP's to "fund" development. I actually find this argument hilarious. If you think about it, Ripple is keeping potentially billions of dollars to "fund" said development. Llet's be honest here, Ripple kept the XRP's to make a truckload of money. Good for them -- if that's the way you think.