ripple_bitcoin_draft_2.pdf
In the update there are several additions; the largest one is probably an analysis of the scalability of different payment systems.
Another thing I added (section 4.3) is some thoughts on how interoperability between different Ripple concepts might be achieved. This gave me the confidence that I can start experimenting with my own code in the short term, without having to worry too much about interoperability: if I do things the right way, interoperability can be added later as a feature.
I know there is a lot of Ripple activity going on right now; I don't know whether all of it is good. I know my concept is how I want it; I hope others in this community will also prefer my concept. I think my concept is the most Bitcoin-like of all Ripple concepts I've seen: you hardly need to trust anyone, and unlike most Ripple systems, this one is not based on debt. That doesn't mean all other concepts are bad: for instance, this concept of using Ripple as a decentralized currency exchange solves an entirely different problem (thereby being useful in its own way), and AFAICS working with "fiat" currency is not possible without some form of trust or even some form of debt.
For the future, I have the following plans:
- Find out what important remaining design decisions need to be made before coding can start, and do some research to make good decisions on these issues
- Choose a software license (I tend to agree with the FSF philosophy and use the GPL; is it appropriate here?)
- Choose a catchy project name ("Ripple" is already taken, at least unofficially)
- Choose a programming language (currently I think I'll use C++. Fast, easy to make cross-platform and allows for future integration with Bitcoin client code)