The first question I have is why is an XRP currency unit needed in order to keep the ledger of IOUs? That's not how Ripple started...
It's used to prevent spam in the ledger and provide ease of currency exchange. For example: BTC -> XRP -> Yen Or USD -> XRP - Frequent Flyer miles Whatever!
I addressed this above. There is no spam concern because there is no distributed block chain with data storage and bandwidth pressures.
XRP is a math-based currency just like any other. Why would it need to be a copy of the Bitcoin source to be legit?
I didn't say it did. I said it needs to be mathematically verifiable. Show me how it is and I'll shut up immediately.
Here's a tip to understanding Ripple...FUCK XRP!!
You mean only pay attention to the great sounding aspects like external, simple currency exchange, but not to what the "right hand" is doing behind the back with XRP...