You Are Not Mistaken
Let me make some assumptions about you. Permit me some latitude; you'll see where I'm going in a minute.
You discovered XRP's performance metrics, features, and champion organizations after stumbling upon it due to something you saw on social media, or perhaps heard from a friend. Once you did, you realized that it was superior - in every capacity except daily trade volume - than Bitcoin. You then began to do your own research and found out more unbiased information about how Ripple's software solutions will utilize XRP 'at scale' for settlement of cross-border payments.
And then it grew even more unbelievable; you learned about the massive alternative use cases of micropayments, web monetization, and smart contracts. You explored Coil's technology for web content monetization and were able to apprehend what this might mean for adoption of digital assets and XRP.
And interoperability?
When David Schwartz mentioned making the 'pie bigger for everybody,' you understood and nodded inwardly. 'That is big picture thinking,' you may have murmured to yourself.
I know I did.
But what happens to these rock-solid beliefs in the Internet of Value when the market gyrates and reveals its unpredictable nature?
It's enough to shake some people's confidence and make them question their conclusions.
But when it comes to the Internet of Value, my confidence is unshakable. The vision leaders in charge of Ripple, Coil, Forte, Cinnamon, Omni, Rise, XRPL Labs, and others are at the threshold of seeing the first wave of true IoV applications emerge from developers' imaginations. We've seen the monumental business deals that have added enormous momentum to both web monetization and cross-border payments.
We know the people and leaders that are a part of this, and we know that they have an enormous personal - and professional - stake in championing the Internet of Value.
But most of all, facts are on our side now. We know that xRapid payment flows are increasing; we know that Ripple is planning on opening new corridors to South America, which will grow xRapid to new heights. Coil is working with Imgur, Cinnamon, and Puma to pioneer web monetization. RISE, along with prominent entertainment moguls, is working to establish how monetization will integrate within the music industry.
And that's an abbreviated list of business deals and efforts that are ongoing.
Do not waver.
Do not doubt.
XRP and the Internet of Value are now visible on the horizon.
General Crypto News
One of the 'missing links' in blockchain technology is a collection of companies that aim to specialize in assisting organizations with AML.
Some teams - and individuals - noted this gap early on, and sought out their niche role in tracking blockchain transactions; but 'AML' is a bit different and less straightforward than managing and verifying identity. As of 2017, there were approximately twenty companies that were attempting to provide identity management and authentication services related to a blockchain. When it comes to anti-money laundering (AML), the participants are less clear; because AML is a continual process and not a result. To conduct AML procedures, it's not enough to call an API that provides identity services; instead, algorithms and people must continually review transaction samples in an attempt to identify suspicious transfers.
Over time, however, some companies have emerged that purport to provide these services for organizations that interact with digital assets. These 'AML companies' must identify account holders and single out suspicious transactions. In essence, they must do on a proactive basis what Thomas Silkjær has done in response to fraudulent activity.
One of these new AML companies is 'Elliptic,' a company that recently conducted a 'Series B' financing round where it raised $23 million dollars.
Most of that amount was raised from SBI Holdings, but also in the mix was AlbionVC, SignalFire, Octopus Ventures, and Santander Innoventures. SBI Holdings received a seat on the company's board, in addition to their ownership interest.
The CEO of Elliptic, James Smith, provided his perspective on the new capital and business partners:
"𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘺𝘱𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦.
𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘉𝘐 𝘎𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘢 𝘬𝘦𝘺 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘈𝘴𝘪𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘑𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘯.
𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘺𝘱𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘌𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘳𝘺𝘱𝘵𝘰-𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘴."
This marks a series of extremely high-profile clients that the company has signed; the firm has also been contracted to develop monitoring services for Facebook's Libra stablecoin, as well as one or more Central Bank Digital Currencies.
The move was a smart one by SBI, and no doubt more contracts will arrive in the pipeline for Elliptic after this latest financing round. It also marks a consistent execution of SBI's plan for vertical integration of its presence in the cryptomarket, as detailed in their business plans.
Look for more companies to enter the market, especially now that the publicity around digital assets has prompted widespread and consistent interest and investment by banks and other traditional financial players.
Ripple News
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) was established after World War II with the goal of helping governments manage their various national economies in conformance to global policies designed to:
"... 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺."
and
"... 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭-𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥."
Its membership includes thirty-six countries, heavily-weighted around Europe; this is what we'd expect to see, given its origins. However, the organization is aiming globally with its policies and leadership, and views its mission as reflecting a world-wide focus.
One year ago, we learned that the organization was actively investigating blockchain technology, and had sponsored a paper that summarized its findings about blockchain technology and corporate governance.
It was promising evidence of IoV progress on a global scale, as it mentioned Ripple and shone a spotlight on the Silicon Valley company as an example of how blockchain technology was being used to transform cross-border payments for banks and remittance processors.
It's obvious that the OECD knows which way the wind is blowing.
The organization is sponsoring a two-day meeting titled "OECD Policy Forum on Blockchain" in Paris, France on September 12ᵗʰ and 13ᵗʰ. Ripple is sending Liz Chien, their Vice President of Global Tax, Breanne Madigan, Ripple's Head of Global Institutional Markets, and Marjan Delatinne, Ripple's Global Head of Banking:
Ripple's three representatives will be participating in three distinct events during the two days:
- Breanne Madigan: Digital Financial Marketplaces: New developments and regulatory responses in primary and secondary markets
- Marjan Delatinne: Can Blockchain Technology Reduce the Costs of Remittances?
- Liz Chien: Tax and Blockchain: From tax administration to transparency and the tax treatment of digital financial assets
The Internet of Value requires its advocates to lead from the front, and the OECD's two-day conference signals that it understands that blockchain is the future for international finance; and more importantly for those of us that own XRP, they are looking closely at regulatory topics related to the new technology.
Specifically, the title of Liz Chien's panel, ' From tax administration to transparency and the tax treatment of digital financial assets,' indicates that the OECD's various member countries are all grappling with similar topics.
The OECD is an example of an international organization that global leadership depends upon to discover which direction to steer on complex topics. Blockchain technology and digital assets are no exception, and it is important to track what these organizations say on these topics. Their recommendations have the potential of impacting XRP's adoption for good or ill, so it's great to see Ripple engage with these groups on an active basis.
Kotak Mahindra
The second-largest private bank in India is Kotak Mahindra.
The company's headquarters is in the mega-city of Mumbai, on India's West Coast; it has over thirty thousand employees, and manages total assets of over $31 billion dollars.
In July of last year, we learned that the bank had joined RippleNet, the group of banks, remittance processors, and other organizations that comprise the new challenger group to the SWIFT network.
India is a major player in the remittance market, with somewhere around $69 billion dollars having been transmitted to the nation in 2017.
On June 12ᵗʰ, CII-Tata Communication's Center for Digital Transformation (YouTube channel), published an interview with Deepak Sharma, the Chief Digital Officer for Kotak Mahindra:
Some of the noteworthy quotes from the interview include:
"𝘞𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴. 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦r𝘦 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵? 𝘈 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘨𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵? 𝘈 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘭? 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳?
𝘚𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘢 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘳𝘶𝘱𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘳𝘶𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦.
𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘸𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦; 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬𝘴; 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 ... 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 ...
𝘚𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺, 𝘸𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘗.𝘖.𝘊. (𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵), 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴?
𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘸𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘙𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘦."
While the rest of the video was also important, as it details how Kotak Mahindra is addressing all technological disruption, it was this statement about 'disrupting' themselves that really made an impact on me. My hope is that other market-leading banks embrace new technology as well, and will provide resources for transforming themselves rather than waiting for increased competition from other early adopters.
Thanks to Steven Diep for the note about this newly-released interview.
Cl@b2019
Cl@b2019 is a conference sponsored by the Florida International Bankers Association and the Latin American Banking Federation. The conference takes place from October 7ᵗʰ through the 9ᵗʰ in Hollywood, Florida, on the East Coast of the state.
Henrique Teixeira, Ripple's Director of Strategic Relationships in the Americas, is scheduled to participate in a panel discussing 'Payment Innovations':
The conference organizers rescheduled the conference for early October due to Hurricane Dorian.
One thing I've noticed is that there's a lot of industry conferences for payments, generally, and even more for banking; it's great to see Ripple selecting some of the high-profile conferences to interface with the movers and shakers in finance. In the case of Cl@b2019, it's obvious that their selection of industry meetings is including those that pertain to both Latin and South America, which is one of their new target corridors for remittance payments.
Identitii
Identitii is an Australian company that seems laser-focused on one particular use case: The sharing of information that accompanies transactions. They (currently) have one platform called, un-apologetically, 'Overlay.' The name is quite descriptive, since their solution seems to 'overlay' the payment networks involved; their goal seems to be to allow parties to a transaction to view attached documents according to defined security requirements.
They are not a run-of-the-mill legacy company, however; they are embracing blockchain, and have pioneered the design of a solution that they believe assists with continual AML requirements. In addition, this solution includes the filing of a patent in the US: The name of the patent is "Computer Implemented Method for Processing a Financial Transaction and a System Therefor."
The patent goes to great lengths to describe a blockchain technology-based solution for integrating documents and payments, and includes no less than thirteen references to Ripple and XRP:
"[ 0207 ] 𝘚𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 : 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘣𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘯𝘰𝘯 - 𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘟𝘙𝘗 ( 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘤𝘰𝘭 ) 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘸𝘢𝘺 : 𝘱𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦 1023 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘱𝘵."
It's great to see more patents with references to digital assets, and of course, Ripple; while patents are quite commonly filed as 'just in case' defensive measures, it's still very encouraging to see fintech businesses include references to the modern technology successor to the aging SWIFT banking network.
Money Tap
Money Tap is the product of SBI Ripple Asia, the organization created to oversee the joint venture by both Ripple and SBI Holdings.
The mobile application utilizes Ripple's xCurrent capabilities to transfer money in real time between domestic banks in Japan; it's one of the examples of how Ripple technology can be used for domestic payment processing as well as cross-border traffic.
The initial rollout of Money Tap was done with two banks, and on June 26ᵗʰ of this year, that number was expanded to seven additional banks, including one 'mystery bank' that wasn't named in the announcement. Now, two months later, SBI formally announced that they'd added four more banks to the list of financial institutions that can be linked to the mobile application:
"... 𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩, 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 (𝘈𝘸𝘢 𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘬, 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘑𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘯 𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘬, 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘥 𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘬, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘬) 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘦 ..."
The announcement also included a status report for implementing what SBI is calling their 'Fintech platform,' which has evidently been installed in five of the banks involved, and is pending in approximately ten other banks.
Money Tap is an important application, as it should handle a significant percentage of Japan's domestic payments; hopefully we'll see the application expand to include cross-border traffic as well.
Ripple Ramping up Regulatory Team
The largest and most vexing problem that Ripple must tackle with regards to long-term adoption of digital assets is achieving regulatory clarity.
In 2017, one banking attendee indicated that lack of regulatory clarity would prohibit her own bank from pioneering digital assets. That particular bank executive was reflecting the viewpoint of most of the other banking attendees as well, although many would like nothing better than to reduce their reliance on the legacy SWIFT correspondence banking network and its prohibitive costs.
Now, two years later, regulatory clarity has made some step-wise progress, but is still lacking in specific countries, particularly here in the West; the UK has clarified some regulations, and so has the US, but both of these countries must lead by example. Thus far, the US has been moving much more slowly than the industry would like, and was the location of push-back and skepticism related to Facebook's announcement of their Libra whitepaper.
Leaders here in the U.S. seem aware of the importance of keeping the country's leadership role in new technology, but there is still much work to be done.
Ripple Engaging with Lawmakers
On July 29ᵗʰ, Ripple took out a full-page advertisement in the Wall Street Journal that reminded the public - and the U.S. Congress - that 'digital assets' do not equate to Bitcoin; instead of judging digital assets based on past associations between Bitcoin and crime, the better option is to look at the industry as representing an entire set of new technology.
The one-page announcement, signed by both Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen, certainly publicized Ripple's viewpoint.
Building on this, the company on September 3ʳᵈ announced the hiring of Ron Hammond, a former US Treasury employee who also assisted with portions of the Token Taxonomy Act, sponsored by a number of US Congressmen and women:
The title of Ron Hammond's new role is 'Manager of Government Relations,' and he is obviously destined to work with Michelle Bond and Stuart Adelroty, Ripple's Global Head of Government Relations and General Counsel, respectively, on matters of regulation.
It was good to see Ripple ramping up the team and allocating more resources to this last, major challenge for the company.
Equilibrium
Equilibrium is a company based in Finland. According to its own site, it:
"... 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥’𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘴.
𝘞𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘣."
The company received capital from Ripple's Xpring Initiative, and formal communications from both Ripple and Equilibrium were published on August 6ᵗʰ. The scope of their services was described by Equilibrium to include:
- Open Source Interledger Connector
- Web Services
- On-boarding
Now just one month later, the company has published a "Guide To Interledger: Connecting Connectors Using HTTPS." The guide focuses in on configuring one connector to communicate directly to another one using HTTPS. It assumes that the reader already has one connector up-and-running.
The guide is definitely aimed at those with a working knowledge of the software involved in running an ILP connector, including Linux commands and Nginx. Otto Liuhtonen, Equilibrium's Editor, indicated that the next guide will cover how to set up 'moneyd' to the new connector.
It's great to see more resources now being published around the Interledger network and its technology; there are many in the XRP community that may want to delve a bit deeper into the code involved, and this guide does not disappoint.
Coil
One of the best interviews I've read recently is the one where Ian Jacobs posed questions to Stefan Thomas about Coil, Interledger, and web monetization. Ian Jacobs conducted the interview in June, and published it via the W3C's official site on September 3ʳᵈ.
Here's a few questions and answers that piqued my interest:
Ian: "𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 (𝘊𝘰𝘪𝘭)?"
Stefan: "𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘞𝘦𝘣 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘱𝘵. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘦𝘣 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘦 𝘢 <𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘢> 𝘵𝘢𝘨. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳 (𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘪𝘭) 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘶𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘥. 𝘐𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘵."
Ian: "𝘐 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢. 𝘚𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘐’𝘮 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘈𝘮𝘢𝘻𝘰𝘯 𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘦 𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘻 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 “𝘞𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘸” 𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐’𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦. 𝘚𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘦𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘵."
Stefan: "𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘴 —𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘈𝘖𝘓 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦— 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘦𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦.
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘰𝘰𝘭. 𝘐𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘈𝘖𝘓, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘰𝘰𝘭. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘴𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 “𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴” 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵."
Ian: "𝘞3𝘊 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘴 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘚𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳: 𝘛𝘗𝘈𝘊 2019. 𝘐 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 500-600 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘴. 𝘐 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘞𝘦𝘣 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨?"
Stefan: "𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘞𝘦𝘣 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘞𝘦𝘣 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 —𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘦𝘣.
𝘞𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦, 𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘞𝘦𝘣 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 '𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵.' 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘦’𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘞𝘦𝘣 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘈𝘮𝘢𝘻𝘰𝘯’𝘴 “𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦” 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯: 𝘜𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘶𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘞𝘦𝘣 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘺 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘞𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵!"
The article spanned a wide variety of topics, and also included some details about how ILP evolved to its current iteration, along with some of the 'big picture' ideas that Stefan Thomas has for Coil.
For those that are serious fans of XRP or the technology and businesses behind the growing Internet of Value, this W3C article is required reading material.
Thanks to XRP Research Center (Twitter avatar)
TPAC 2019
TPAC 2019 is a meeting sponsored by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the body responsible for establishing and promulgating web standards used in Internet development. The meeting spans for five days and its goal is to:
"... 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘞𝘦𝘣 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘞3𝘊’𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱𝘴, 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘉𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘈𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘎𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱 (𝘛𝘈𝘎).
𝘞3𝘊 𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱𝘴 (𝘞𝘎) 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘎𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱𝘴 (𝘐𝘎) 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱𝘴."
It's an annual meeting, and this year's is taking place in Fukuoka, Japan, from September 16ᵗʰ through the 20ᵗʰ.
Coil happens to be a platinum sponsor at the event, and both Adrian Hope-Bailie and Stefan Thomas will be hosting a presentation on Tuesday, September 17ᵗʰ that focuses on Web Monetization.
A large part of what both Ripple and Coil are trying to accomplish requires each organization to engage with not only regulators and government officials, but also international standard-setting bodies. To achieve real-time payments on a global basis, the Internet of Value must use an open, standards-based approach so that a critical mass of stakeholders can easily access and use the technology.
Part of the process of achieving these standards is to meet with other businesses and organizations that also have an interest in helping to create these general principles.
My Coil Recommendations
One of the most prominent leaders in the Coil Community is Steven Sands, or as he's known on social media, @vengefulseven. He was one of the first authors to take advantage of Coil's web monetization; after noticing that there were very few social media platforms about Coil, he decided to demonstrate leadership and start a new subreddit, r/CoilCommunity.
The subreddit is now a steady home for those wishing to promote their Coil content on Reddit, and although its membership is a modest number currently, I predict that it may (eventually) grow to challenge some of the crypto-focused subreddits for membership numbers.
In addition to his leadership in helping others who are using Coil, he's a fiction author, specializing in the fantasy genre.
And once again, he's demonstrating leadership by being the first author to publish a full novel on the Coil website.
Why is he doing this?
In a recent blog, he describes his experience working with Amazon's publishing platform, and actually divulges how much money he made there, compared to how much money he's currently making on Coil. It's a great article, and if you're an author who is trying to decide on whether or not to publish on Amazon or Coil, it's an important document to review prior to making your decision.
Author: Steven Sands @vengefulseven
Article: My Experience Self-Publishing with Amazon and Why I'm Backing Coil
Topic: Web Monetization
Author: Dr FoMo @CKJ
YouTube Link: Ripple XRP: IMF Chief Christine Lagarde Encourages Open Cryptocurrency Regulation.
Topic: XRP
Author: Dusty Showers @dustyshowers
Article: How To Kiss Opossums
Topic: Wildlife
Author: King Solomon @XRP_OWL
Article: XRP - Ripple - The Internet of Value - And My Story
Topic: XRP
Author: mirrae @mirrae
Article: Corporate Raiders & Tokenizing Real Assets
Topic: Internet of Value
Author: Srdan Vocanec @Bauhauswerk
Article: 5. Photography is not just for pros! Portrait photography pt2
Topic: Photography
Author: pedro ruiz @nyc2615
Article: Part 3 of leadership quotes by charles philips
Topic: Philosophy
XRP News
The Japanese contingent within the XRP Community is comprised of a large number of active supporters, and earlier this year they began to plan for what will probably be one of the largest XRP meetups in the history of the digital asset.
As time passed, more details have become known about the meetup, which was tentatively planned for a time frame to follow the third SWELL conference. SBI VC Trade is one of the sponsors of the event.
On September 4ᵗʰ, more details were published, and the organizers indicated they will be accepting applications to attend the event, starting on September 15ᵗʰ:
The site listed the time and place as 1 pm - 5 pm in the Ginza District of Tokyo, one of the most popular destinations for business travelers and tourists alike.
My guess is that there will be hundreds of attendees at this meeting; if you're looking to enjoy yourself and also connect with other XRP fans, this meetup in mid-November is definitely an event you should attend.
Provided, of course, that you can get to Japan!
St Jude
It was a momentous occasion for King Blue (Twitter avatar).
In 2018, he was the first person to realize the potential behind using the XRP Tip Bot for charitable fund-raising. It was an intuitive, light-bulb moment for the early adopter, and he knew that he'd stumbled onto something that might introduce a new level of convenience and fun for philanthropy.
He was right.
Although he received suspicion and push-back from some quarters, he persevered, writing a guide to help others reputably use the new application while maintaining the trust of those in the XRP Community who were generous enough to part with some of their zerps for worthy causes.
He formed a small group that has since raised many thousands of XRP for charity, called the 'Good Souls Group,' or 'GSG' for short. The group is comprised of (currently) six charities and their champions, each a respected individual within the XRP Community.
King Blue's favorite charity? St Jude Children's Hospital. St Jude's is an organization formed in 1962 in an effort to fight childhood cancers. Over time, St Jude has made enormous progress, steadily reducing the fatality of specific types of childhood illnesses.
And on August 31ˢᵗ, a generous contributor, @RichRipple, donated 7,000 XRP, which pushed the total amount of XRP collected for St Jude to over 100,000 XRP:
It was a satisfying achievement for the one individual who was first to step forward and take a risk: Congratulations to King Blue and the entire Good Souls Group on this important milestone. Hopefully, in time, we'll be celebrating a full million XRP raised for St Jude and the other organizations that benefit from the efforts of the GSG.
GIFs of Excellence
If you are one of those XRP Community members that is also a member of one or more social media platforms, or Twitter, you will probably encounter an opportunity to share memes and gifs. While some of us prefer written material or YouTube vlogs, gifs and memes are used frequently to succinctly get a point across in an intuitive manner.
Recently, I covered the unexpected and enormous popularity of a gif that was created by @_JonnyLawrence (Twitter avatar):
As it turns out, @JonnyLawrence is quite skilled at creating these types of graphics, and on September 1ˢᵗ, he released a new one:
The new one shows how ILP and the XRP Ledger can communicate any type of tokenized value across the two networks; basically, the XRP Ledger can serve as a source of settlement for its own native currency - XRP - and any counter-party asset that a gateway chooses to create on the network. ILP can then communicate this information across its network, and join the XRP Ledger to other external networks.
The first of his creations was retweeted over one thousand times. The new graphic is also popular, and provides yet another inspiring visual depiction of XRP's capabilities.
Regulation and Crypto Fan Video
While most fan videos focus in on aspects of XRP and its growing collection of technological components, one recent video instead focused on matters of regulation, setting the first half of the video to an inspirational soundtrack:
The clips in the video centered around comments from the IMF - and Christine Lagarde specifically - that emphasized thought leadership on matters affecting digital assets and blockchain technology. If you have any doubts about whether the world's leaders are taking digital assets and blockchain seriously, this video may just put them to rest.
Thanks Janna One Trick (YouTube Channel) for posting this inspirational collection of regulatory clips.
Steady as She Goes
The cryptomarket can be unpredictable, but for those of us that choose to own XRP, our steadfast belief in the IoV doesn't require any specific faith or political leaning.
It is based on concrete facts and measurable progress.
This is what sets the XRP Community apart; we are comprised of individuals who believe in the fundamental value of technology projects, and are not swayed by emotional appeals, slogan-ism, politics, or grade-school trolling.
Instead, we respect tangible business progress and results, as well as the singular vision that guides the leaders of the IoV's champion organizations.
It's important to stay current on the latest developments affecting XRP. To learn more about how blockchain developments impact XRP, make sure to subscribe to my blog on Coil. And remember to support others in the XRP Community as well!
Sources and Credits:
Cover Art: Thank you to Bruce Mars
OhNoRipple via https://ift.tt/2PblI7a @Hodor, @Khareem Sudlow
