Whois & Analysis for ripple.com

A blockchain – originally block chain – is a distributed database that maintains a continuously growing list of ordered records called blocks.

Each block contains a timestamp and a link to a previous block.

By design, blockchains are inherently resistant to modification of the data — once recorded, the data in a block cannot be altered retroactively.

Through the use of a peer-to-peer network and a distributed timestamping server, a blockchain database is managed autonomously.

Blockchains are "an open, distributed ledger that can record transactions between two parties efficiently and in a verifiable and permanent way.

The ledger itself can also be programmed to trigger transactions automatically.".

Ripple is a real-time gross settlement system (RTGS), currency exchange and remittance network by Ripple.

Also called the Ripple Transaction Protocol (RTXP) or Ripple protocol, it is built upon a distributed open source Internet protocol, consensus ledger and native currency called XRP (ripples).

Released in 2012, Ripple purports to enable "secure, instant and nearly free global financial transactions of any size with no chargebacks." It supports tokens representing fiat currency, cryptocurrency, commodity or any other unit of value such as frequent flier miles or mobile minutes.

At its core, Ripple is based around a shared, public database or ledger, which uses a consensus process that allows for payments, exchanges and remittance in a distributed process.

A digital asset, in essence, is anything that exists in a binary format and comes with the right to use.

Data that do not possess that right are not considered assets.

Digital assets include but are not exclusive to: digital documents, audible content, motion picture, and other relevant digital data that are currently in circulation or are, or will be stored on digital appliances, including, but not exclusive to, personal computers, laptops, portable media players, tablets, storage devices, telecommunication devices, and any and all apparatuses which are, or will be in existence, once technology progresses to accommodate for the conception of new modalities which would be able to carry digital assets; notwithstanding the proprietorship of the physical device onto which the digital asset is located.

Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts in a particular country or socio-economic context, or is easily converted to such a form.

The main functions of money are distinguished as: a medium of exchange; a unit of account; a store of value; and, sometimes, a standard of deferred payment.

Any item or verifiable record that fulfills these functions can be considered as money.

A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates credit.

Lending activities can be performed either directly or indirectly through capital markets.

Due to their importance in the financial stability of a country, banks are highly regulated in most countries.

Most nations have institutionalized a system known as fractional reserve banking under which banks hold liquid assets equal to only a portion of their current liabilities.

In addition to other regulations intended to ensure liquidity, banks are generally subject to minimum capital requirements based on an international set of capital standards, known as the Basel Accords.