XRP - some current thoughts

I thought I'd share an email exchange I just had, as it offers the opportunity to discuss some of my more updated views.

Copy/Pasted as is, with the exception of protecting the individual's name.

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Hey @CryptoIzzy

Was going through some old research and re-stumbled across your blog post regarding the XRP use case. To date I believe that's the single most reasonable and comprehensive guide I've read on XRP. Thanks for putting that out there.

I'm curious, do you have any additional thoughts or amendments to your previous thoughts regarding Ripple and XRP?

Thanks so much. And no worries if you're far too busy to engage in such a conversation. Really appreciate your comprehensive and thoughtful analysis. 

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hi *******- thanks for the kind and supportive words. it means a lot to me to receive constructive feedback.

i do have additional thoughts, but they get complicated fairly quickly, as a lot of it involved scaling, timing, and sequencing. i plan on including them more formally as an addendum to my next big piece (and it quite a bit larger than previous posts) but can't say when that will be out. hopefully not more than a few weeks. 

that being said, i'll share a bit of how i'm viewing it. 

i wonder about the durability of the window in which ripple may exist. in other words, are we in the midst of a massive and broader economic disruption, throwing off the shackles of our current corrupted privately controlled fiat systems? or will the technologies of cryptos simply be de-toothed, de-clawed and assimilated 'into the borg' so to speak?

the benefits of ripple - that it bridges the gap between the current fiat monetary system, and a new blockchain-centric one (by engaging the banks and banking systems themselves, rather than just a tolling system for when you leave and return to the fiat highway) also makes it vulnerable to underperforming traditional blockchain assets in a mass adoption scenario. 

that being said, (my favourite segue it seems!)  the likelihood of a dramatic sudden shift toward blockchain adoption such that fiat gateways (no pun intended) are instantly abandoned strikes me as an extremely low probability. in that case, if/as cryptos take the next quantum leap toward being more transaction-friendly i can see ripple being centrally used as the converted payment adoption system of choice... at least for a time. the issue is then, that success invites displacing competitors. as adoption of cryptos becomes more widespread and the ability to financially 'live' in an exclusively blockchain world becomes more of a possibility, i can see future forks and upgrades of other cryptos usurping ripples processing advantages.

i'm pleased that i predominantly kept my ripple analysis to the functional scenario which i outlined in the article. it's that focus that has kept me relatively comfortable in 'leaving it out there' - even as the broader environment continues to evolve. i still believe it makes a lot of sense, although without another data point into the current adoption rates i am wary about speculating further on that path's timing.

Best
Izzy

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Thank you so much for the reply!!! Very much looking forward to your next piece. I'll look out for it on Twitter.

All of that seems perfectly reasonable and educated to me. I get a little unsure of my own sanity spending too much time on these forums so its good to hear a voice I can understand and agree with.

I find myself particularly concerned about those aspects as well (competition, adoption, regulation), though I suppose those worries exist anytime I'm deciding to spend money on anything. hahhaha.

I wonder, do you think that cryptocurrency might be the final piece in the launchpad that might push humans into the next stage of societal evolution?

I often think of the marshal plan and how we have become so economically dependent, but there has always been something in the way of true interdependency. I have found myself wondering allowed if this is the final piece that shoots us off into the next phase of humanity? Cryptos making business and people so connected so quickly and so fast that we simply could not accept mass conflict and casualties as an answer to larger problems? (I'm not suggesting conflict will cease, but instead will be mitigated and managed to relatively negligible amount)

Any thoughts there? I suppose the real question here is regarding governments and their willingness to allow that to happen. (To your point about de-clawing and de-toothing). 

Anyway, blah blah. Just rambling now. Very excited for your next installment! 

Thanks!

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i'm reluctant to attribute any single 'thing' the title of 'herald' in the progression of our collective evolution.  the mechanisms for manifestation into our experience dictates that true causal points exist on a more subtle  (and for lack of a better word) 'energetic' dimension. 

by the time we come into contact with the 'real world' (as if commonly understood) applications and 
demonstrations of it, we find ourselves interacting with an echo of the original driving process - not unlike observing stars in the night sky and realizing that we are only seeing light that was generated in times long past. 

nevertheless, i do believe that cryptos have the potential to be an extraordinary mechanism to not only support a new way of interacting with one another, but also a peaceful dismantling of the systems surrounding us which we have so clearly outgrown. the successful evolution of our species (and yes, i know this sounds hyperbolic) will involve many such modes of manifestations, across the spectrum of all human experience.  but that's not to say that a renewed awareness of and appreciation for the concept of 'money' will be anything short of integral to our collective societal functioning. 

clear as mud, right? :)

Izzy