Re: Why Ripple has failed.

So in the end again you don't trust your bank, but the FDIC (in the US for example) that they have always enough funds available at all times to guarantee you at least 250000$ in your account. I'm using absolutes here, because any even tiny doubt would reduce the worth of the IOU from face value to below it.

Any kind of more beneficial terms (e.g. higher interest) then makes the IOUs more attractive - but that just means you are willing to take on more risk for a potentially more rewarding IOU. This just offsets the loss in value because of less trust to bring it up to face value because of more rewards. Why shouldn't this be possible in Ripple too?

Someone should check the FDIC assets. Browsed their site, but could not be bothered to find the real answer. A 2% number was mentioned. I wonder, are some of the assets bank deposits?

Ok, found some old numbers here: (DIF Balance Sheet - Fourth Quarter 2008)

http://www.fdic.gov/about/strategic/corporate/cfo_report_4qtr_08/balance.html

It seems the biggest number is "Investment in U.S. Treasury obligations". Yeah, that is really smart.

From what I understand, no one has ever lost a single dollar due to a bank failure, thanks to the FDIC. Love it or hate it, consumer confidence is key and this provides exactly that.

Meaning you don't have to look at the numbers, the FDIC doesn't really have to have anything at all, and they still can guarantee all the deposits? So there is no risk, just because they up till now have not defaulted? So you crossed the atlantic in an armchair with party balloons, and since you made it, there were no risk at all?