Bitcoin rival Ripple looks to make waves

April 11, 2013

The online virtual currency Bitcoin has generated some serious buzz lately, with its value soaring past US$200 for the first time this week. Now a smaller player hopes to emerge as a rival by processing transactions faster and giving its users more payment options.Called Ripple, it's a peer-to-peer payment system that allows people to send money to anyone, anywhere in the world, just like Bitcoin. The system has its own currency, called ripples, but unlike Bitcoin people can also send and receive payments in any other currency, or even create their own.Ripple's credentials are worth noting: OpenCoin, the San Francisco-based company that built Ripple and provides its software infrastructure, was cofounded by Jed McCaleb, who built Mt. Gox, the most popular exchange for Bitcoins. Still, whether Ripple can piggy-back on momentum behind Bitcoin remains to be seen.OpenCoin has just secured a round of angel funding from investors including Andreessen Horowitz and the Bitcoin Opportunity Fund, an investor in Bitcoins and Bitcoin-related companies. The funding was announced Thursday, though the amount was not disclosed.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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