| Payment network |
- Many payment-routing servers.
- Many users per server.
- Credit relationships between users form a trust network that spans servers.
|
| Open |
- Anyone can run a Ripple server.
- Anyone can write Ripple server software.
- Software created by the project will be released as free open source software.
|
| Decentralized |
- There is no central credit-issuing body in the trust network.
- No single server controls or regulates communication between servers.
|
| Accountable |
- Participants decide whose obligations they will accept.
- Participants set credit limits for those they trust.
- Intermediaries commit value forward before they receive value in exchange,
so there is no possibility of theft.
- Ripple transactions are irrevocable.
|
| Flexible |
- Participants can settle obligations in whatever manner suits them.
- Participants can be individuals, private currency issuers, exchange brokers,
businesses, cooperatives, credit unions, banks, or other payments systems.
|
| Private |
- Credit relationship details are not made public.
- Intermediaries in a payment chain do not know who participates in the transaction,
outside of their immediate neighbours.
- Ripple participants and server operators, however, may be required to register or
report certain transactions under local law in their jurisdictions.
|
| Under development |
- The Ripple protocol design
is well underway, and a prototype server is being developed.
- Ripplepay.com is a fully-functional
standalone server that anyone can use to store Ripple accounts and process
Ripple payments, but it does not yet communicate with other servers.
|
| Looking for help |
- If you have knowledge of payment systems,
skills in protocol design, financial or network programming,
decentralized P2P networking, web UI development, systems administration,
project management, or
anything else helpful you wish to contribute, including
donations,
please contact Ryan at
.
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