Ripple Labs CEO Chris Larson recently described Bitcoin as an “unneeded” currency, a statement that eventually ended up fuming digital currency supporters.
The statement came during an official interaction hosted by the Californian Banking and Finance Committee to discuss “Innovation and Transformation in Payment Technology”. Apart from Ripple Labs representatives, which also included the company’s CTO Karen Gifford, the committee also invited digital currency veterans like Coin Center Executive Director Jerry Brito and Coinbase Co-Founder and President Fred Ehrsam to present their views on future payment systems.
While both Brito and Ehrsam advocated the benefits of decentralized payment networks like Bitcoin for the future of the finance sector, Larson and Gifford preferred to lobby only their company while ignoring Bitcoin in the process. From what we could gather, Ripple Labs’ focus was only on explaining the blockchain, while they completely sidelined the benefits of Bitcoin as a token that creates the incentives for decentralized networks.
“We don’t think the world needs a new currency, we already have plenty,” Larson told the committee while referring Bitcoin. “The real innovation here is the ability to move money around. […] It is important we address the needs of the banks to move money internationally and domestically.”
“Not cool, Ripple”, “declaration of war” were few of the many comments that came from the Bitcoin community soon after the Larson’s statement left the newswire.
An Introspect is Needed (OP-ED)
Both Bitcoin and Ripple Labs are somewhat on the same page when it comes to enhance the traditional remittence sector. One cannot ignore how much the latter has done in reaching out to mainstream banking sectors and influence them to use a rather cheaper and faster cross border transaction protocol. On the other hand, Bitcoin has proven itself time-after-time as an epitome of decentralized transactions, a thing that even made the mainstream business news networks acknowledge its potential in shaping up the remittance market for unbanked individuals.
They both, indeed, hold a significant part in shaping up the futuristic payment technology, but in their respective ways. So therefore, it would be easier to impress the government representatives if both the technologies begin to represent each other, rather than only themselves. The dirty competition will simply confuse the regulators, while the cause of a better and fair payment system will lost its way.
Its time the community lets go of unnecessary criticism and join hands to promote the technology that literally lies ahead in the future.
tommytrain 
cohagen 
Underwun 
jimbit 
you be the judge:
Councilwoman: “So Bitcoin isn’t for consumer to use?
Chris Larsen: “There’s a lot of debate around that, if people want to use that as store of value they certainly can, just like internet of knowledge lets you communicate in any language, internet of value lets you transact in anything of value.”
There have been many groups dedicated to trading, some focusing on pumping and dumping low-liquidity, low-volume altcoins, but others like the Whale Club that focus on profiting from the moves of Bitcoin or Litecoin, where there is sufficient liquidity to make money consistently. This is what people fail to understand…smart traders make money on the way down, using leverage, as well as on the way up. But they are all in it primarily to realize a fiat profit.
Until volume and liquidity get a whole heck of a lot higher than they are now, these kinds of groups can and do wield more influence over the markets than they probably should…but these are pretty much still 100% unregulated markets and so they are free to profit off of the less-informed.
Bitcoin is a farce, but like just incestuous rape lying baby sister molesting Lena Dunham has idiot supporters it to has idiot supporters.
The anonymous community only have themselves to blame for the negative attention that Bitcoin has attracted, instead of fuelling the ire of the regulators they should have worked to assuage their concerns by focusing not on unrealistic financial freedom but why P2P technology could be a boon for all concerned.
You only have to listen to Andreas Antonopoulos trivialising anonymity when lecturing the Canadian Senate to realise the arrogance and ignorance that promotes Bitcoin.
Completely 100% correct sir! It could have been great but it was/in in the hands of young libertarian fools who just don’t understand how the world and money works.
100 trillion ripples
21 millioin bitcoins
you be the judge!
edited to change billions to trillions… I had that wrong
Well ripple is geared to work with real world wide used fiat for faster cheaper more secure remittances and not a bogus made up phunny munny digi token prone to hacking and illegal drug markets like the just ripped off 12 million bucks worth of btc from it’s users evolution so….
The value of Bitcoin is plummeting after Evolution, a huge Deep Web marketplace for drugs and other illicit goods, vanished overnight.
Former staff members accuse the site’s administrator’s of stealing an estimated $12 million in Bitcoin.
Evolution operated much like a black-market eBay: independent vendors would sell their wares with the administrators taking a cut, and users able to leave reviews and feedback on the vendors’ goods. Only accessible through anonymising web software Tor, sales were made with digital currency Bitcoin.
But now, it has shuttered without warning, and the community believes that the two admins — Verto and Kimble — have made off with an estimated $12 million-worth of Bitcoin held in escrow by the site. LMFAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!