Validators, the rippled nodes that participate in the consensus process for validating transactions in the XRPL are instrumental in the decentralization and overall health of the network. The robustness of the XRPL largely depends on how diverse the list of validators participating in the consensus network is. Via XRPL Apps, the XRPL Developer ZIGXRP, has done an outstanding job in creating a platform to monitor the performance and reliability of these key players of the ecosystem, in addition to sleek visualizations leveraging on data from the XRPL Decentralized Exchange (DEX).

XRPL Apps includes three main features and the live details of its Rippled Stock Node Server, as it is shown in the website's homepage. The first on the list is the Validator Stats & Ranking, where you can look into the validator's ranking and statistics, followed by the recently launched Velocity of Value visualization and the Live Transaction Rates comparing BTC, ETH and XRP transactions per second.

Validator Stats & Ranking

Just as we saw in Dev Null Production's XRPLORE spotlight earlier this month about Know Your Gateway (KYG), where XRPL gateways are evaluated, XRPL Apps offers what could be considered a Know Your Validator (KYV) feature consisting of a stats and ranking mechanism that aims to keep the finger in the pulse of the validators participating in the XRPL, by creating a method to evaluate and rank them in accordance with predefined criteria that will help monitor their overall performance in the consensus network.

In the main view of this feature, we can see four main figures:

Main Validators: The validators that are online at the time of accessing this view.

UNLs: Shows the online validators belonging to UNLs (Unique Node Lists) which contain validators that are deemed most reliable by Ripple.

XRPL Activated: The validators that have activated XRPL accounts (ergo, that can receive XRP tips).

Non-Ripple UNLs: Showing the percentage of trusted validators that are not run by Ripple (an indicator of decentralization).

As you click on the View Reports of XRPL main validators and health statistics, just underneath the UNL change tracker, you access a list of the XRPL's main validators (including their domain and public keys) with UNL status and sorted by ranking score.

The scores for validators are calculated in four metrics:

◻️Availability

◻️Consistency

◻️Reliability

◻️Transparency

Further details on the criteria for each of the metrics can be found here.

The Tipping Wallet

To reward XRPL validators, XRPL Apps has teamed up with Eric Dadoun -the initiator of the effort- and Richard Holland to enable a tipping wallet (rMAkB8EWyvqNmj72at3q5dDEAAt4HA1YMA), for the XRP Community to support XRPL validators by rewarding them with a daily XRP tip, which is sent to validators with activated XRPL accounts taking into account their overall score.

To access the tipping wallet, just click on the New Feature – View Daily Validator Tipping Rewards link that appears just above the validators list:

The tipping wallet view shows the current balance in the wallet, QR code to donate, the address and also the total tips sent to the validators so far:

Validation Tracking

Back in the Validator Ranking & Stats main view, on the lower section you can monitor the validators' activity showing a dynamic view of:

◻️The proposed (or active, if you will) ledger the XRPL, including the number of validators involved.

◻️ Further details on the ledger validated prior to the proposed one that includes the total XRP involved, and the amount and type of transactions processed :

Velocity of Value

Velocity of Value is one of the most recent features added to XRPL Apps, on October 28th this year, with the objective of measuring how fast value in different denominations moves across Ripple's decentralized exchange over time:

https://twitter.com/xrplapps/status/1188804941139369984

And how does the Velocity of Value feature look like?

Across the DEX, 80 assets are monitored. Once the Internet of Value is fully up and running, the different fiat currencies shall show a significant increase, specially on those with active ODL corridors (MSN, USD, INR, etc).

Among the assets monitored, also stable coins and commodities like gold are included (In case you didn't know, gold can be traded in the XRP Ledger).

And at the bottom of this view, a live transaction stream showing the type of transaction, amount, timestamps and asset moved across the XRPL is shown:

In a chat with ZIGXRP, he has revealed that Velocity of Value was actually inspired by this picture tweeted by Dilip Rao where he was presenting at the Arab Regional Payments Systems Conference in Abu Dhabi, UAE earlier this year:

https://twitter.com/diliprao/status/1113836188950048768

“This to me spoke volumes on where we are heading. (After watching data progress bars most my adult life) Value streaming like data. Wanted to do my version of it for the DEX.” ZIGXRP expressed.

Live Transaction Rates

In the Live Transaction Rates feature, I was up for a very nice surprise! A comparison of transaction rates between BTC, ETH and XRP gathering the data from each blockchain and displayed over Dani Torres' famous Scalability Series artwork as the background! There is 0 doubt that Dani's artwork really took this visualization to the next level and ZIGXRP, its creator, also shared with XRPLORE a bit about how he came up with the idea:

“Another inspiration for me to create a visualization was the Ripple infographic that showed transaction rates:

https://twitter.com/ripple/status/943932041266999296?lang=en

I thought it would be really cool to put live data to it, and I asked Dani Torres if I could use her artwork of the same inspiration as a backdrop. That was fun and more challenging to do than appears.....to take blocks of transactions and meter it out to a TPS value but I loved creating it.”

Widely covering validators' performance and offering unparalleled visualizations of the rate at which value moves through the XRP Ledger, XRPL Apps fits perfectly with the projects that have been covered so far in XRPLORE, as it also provides individuals and institutions with the right tools to gather information right from the XRP Ledger.

Although I wrote this post as comprehensive as possible, XRPL Apps is a widely interactive platform, and a written blog post will never really do it justice, so I really recommend you to explore it and click through the different views as you can obtain tons of charts and insight (for example, you can get charts for each of the assets in the Velocity of Value view).

And if you want to find out more details about ZIGXRP's work, I also recommend you to follow him right here in the Coil platform and to read his post {Coding on the XRPL – My First Experience;} where he describes more in detail what coding in the XRPL for the first time was like for him. 🧭

Header photo by Caspar Camille Rubin on Unsplash

For December's second edition of The Blab, I am truly honored to interview Daniel Siedentopf, aka Nixer, a brilliant inventor and developer within the XRP Community having created the renowned XRP Tip Bot charity splitter bot (@GoodXRP), the XRP Tip Bot stats page, the first XRP IoT Christmas Tree among lots of other cool stuff! As always, there is extended content for Coil Subscribers with an extra Q&A.

(RR) Hello Nixer, thank you for joining The Blab! It’s really a pleasure to interview you especially in such a nice time of the year when by the way you have a unique project going on with the XRP_IoT_Tree...where the Christmas Tree in your living room is connecting the Internet of Things with the Internet of Giving by raising funds every time the lights are on! We can perhaps start off by knowing a bit more on what inspired this project?

(DS) Hi Moncho, I am really honored and happy to be interviewed for The Blab! I was following your latest blogs and it is really an awesome initiative! So thank you for giving me the opportunity to be part of it!

As you already mentioned: Yes, I have connected my Christmas Tree to the XRP-Ledger. :–)

Christmas is the time of giving and I wanted to raise/collect some XRP for the @GoodXrp charities. So I was thinking of a way to raise funds where:

I could “connect” things which were not connected before (IoT like)

I can learn something new (oh yes I did!)

I have fun doing (implementing) it! (it was really fun!!!)

I came up with the idea to connect the tree to the XRP Ledger when my wife asked me (back in September – yes, no mistake here: SEPTEMBER!) if we could put the Christmas tree in the living room. We ended up putting the tree in mid of November because we were quite busy during September/November (Our little baby boy Raphael was born :–) )

I started working on the project around 18th of November and since 20th of November our Xmas tree is connected to the XRP Ledger:

For every minute our beautiful Christmas tree is shining bright, it will deposit 0.05 XRP to a special XRP Tip Bot Account: @XRP_IoT_Tree.

All funds are being collected in this account and ultimately sent over to @GoodXrp after Christmas.

Currently there are 157 XRP deposited and 50 XRP received via tips, which makes a total of 207 XRP raised already..

(RR) That is really impressive! Thank you for sharing the love with those in need!

Do you think this is your most epic invention so far? If not, what would that be?

(DS) I think, speaking of inventions for the XRP ecosystem, my XRP connected Christmas tree is one of the highlights I built so far. It was a lot of fun building it and it is still fun using it: turning the tree on –> turning it off –> seeing the XRP payment be sent for a good cause!

But there are two other projects I am really proud of:

One project (and the most time consuming project for me) is my https://xrptipbot-stats.com page. It’s a website with many different statistics around our beloved XRP Tip Bot.

It all started when I joined the @GoodXrp GSG. There was need for a transparency tool to show that tips are forwarded and sent to the charities. At first I built a simple stats page for the @GoodXrp charities, now available under https://goodxrp.org.

The charities stats website was the foundation for xrptipbot-stats.com where you can see all tips happening through the XRP Tip Bot. You can also see the overall stats of the XRP Tip Bot, the ILP statistics for the XRPTipBot and check stats for specific users as well (which is used by the charities for transparency):

My second project I am really proud of is the @GoodXrp splitter bot itself. You can send any amount of XRP (via tip or direct deposit) to the @GoodXrp handle and the incoming XRP will be equally split between all supported charities (the charities the @GoodXrp account follows on twitter). And when you do so on twitter, the bot will actually like your “tip message” and also reply with the successful split of your tip!

There is also a lot of work and time going into this project. But knowing it is for good causes is enough compensation for that time and work :)

2019 will be such a memorable year for you as little Raphael came into your lives! You’re such a cool dad that you already got him not just his own XRP address but his own CUSTOMIZED XRP address with his name on it!

(RR) What would you say is your funniest or most memorable moment with Raphael so far?

(DS) We had some very funny moments already. But the most funny moments have to do with changing table “accidents”. I think it’s not fair to publish them! Hehe :D

So I am going with the most memorable moment:

This is, to date, definitely the first time I saw him. It’s really hard to describe the feeling when you see your own baby the first time.

You wait 9 months, support your wife as best as you can (unfortunately you can not do so much as the guy), you have a fairly hard time in the hospital and then… from one second to the next, there is this small human you were waiting for.

Having my very own baby laying on my chest right after birth is for sure the best moment so far!

(RR) Man, so awesome! Definitely agree...and this is a hard question, I recognize. To pick a most memorable moment with your kids is almost impossible, although getting to hold them for the first time is definitely unique.

What are 3 of your favorite hobbies?

(DS) OK, lets keep this short:

◽️Go fishing in Norway (at the sea).
Awesome country, awesome people and...

awesome fish!

◽️ Developing/implementing different stuff, exploring new technologies, and so on. (If you are going for lunch with your colleagues, make sure to check out Lunch Community ;–)

◽️ Riding my motorbike. Even though I didn’t have much time this year I am looking forward to the next motorbike season! (with hopefully more time on hand)

(Suzuki Gladius 650 with ‘some’ modifications - one of them is a lower ride height because I am so damn small! :D)

(RR) That bike looks awesome! How is it riding in Germany? Do you often take daylong trips or how do you normally enjoy motorbike season?

(DS) Riding a motorbike in Germany is really cool! You know, we don’t have any speed limits in most areas of our highways but it's not fun driving ultra fast with a motorbike! (at least for me)

I rather enjoy the curvy roads in the mountains. Leaning into curves is so much more fun than going fast in a straight line :)

Living in Frankfurt, it only takes 15-20 minutes for me to reach the mountains (called ‘Taunus’). We have very smooth roads here so it is really enjoyable to drive. There are not many day long trips I have taken so far. I mostly enjoy just going for 2-3 hours. (sometimes after work, but mostly on the weekends)

(RR) Looks like you're definitely enjoying life! By the way, if you were told you have to pick an age to live at that age until you die, what age would that be and why?

(DS) To be honest: The time/age I would pick is right now! I am 30, married to my beautiful wife since last year, and this September our baby was born.

This is the perfect and most enjoyable time for me right now. I still feel young (maybe I am actually?), I have my own family, see them every day and looking at Raphael (our baby) always puts a smile on my face. (Especially when he is smiling too! :) )

(RR) As I was writing this question, I was thinking the exact same thing, Nixer. Although I’m a bit older (36). At home we’ve got two little ones under two, I’m married to the most wonderful woman since 2016, and very often these days I wish I could make time stand still.

We've talked a bit about Nixer as a dad, let's talk a bit now about Nixer as a son. In your opinion, what is the best thing (legacy) you got from your parents?

(DS) For me, it’s the way my parents raised me. I am an only child and often they are considered spoiled and selfish. But I was not pampered by my parents (or is that just my personal opinion? – at least I do not think so) and I'm very proud of the way they raised me. Of course they have supported me in difficult times, as parents should always do. But they also gave me some space to develop myself and develop my own character. And I think they did that really well. They have taught me some very important principles of life and I try to implement them as good as I can. I'm not perfect, but I try to make the best out of every situation.

(RR) That is fantastic Nixer, I think finding that balance raising children is very important, especially nowadays in an era of instant gratification. I am the oldest of 3, I have a brother and a sister.

And how were you like growing up?

(DS) I grew up in a fairly small town (~ 40,000 inhabitants). It was a great time and I really enjoyed playing football with friends or just driving around with the bicycle. I also had fun doing lots of other sports but didn’t play them really actively (like table tennis, handball or basketball)

(RR) What were some of your favorite games during childhood?

(DS) Lots of “Super Nintendo” games like Fifa, Formula 1, Final Fantasy, ...

Definitely the Pokemon Gameboy games! (man I loved them!)

Age of Empires (loved the strategic aspect)

(RR) FIFA! It would be cool if we could do an XRP Community FIFA tournament some day...

If your childhood had a smell, what would it be?

(DS) The smell of freshly made by my grandma vanilla/chocolate pudding! She always made pudding for me as dessert when I had lunch with my grandparents on the weekend! So delicious!

(RR) What is something that your lifelong friends would say: “that is so Nixer”?

(DS) Just a few words here: calm, patient, ambitious and pragmatic!

**Our time is not-mineable, it is limited in supply (we don’t know how much that is either) and its and it is burned at a rather high rate forever. In your opinion, what is the best way a person can spend their time?
**

(DS) For me, family and friends come first. Try to spend as much time with your friends and family as you can. We never know, anything can happen in life. Friends might move (far) away, people you love pass away or simply you don’t have much contact with them anymore because your own life is changing (like having a baby).

If I may give an advice: don’t always wait for your friends/family to contact/text you first. Make the first move, text them, call them. If they are truly good friends, they will understand that you (or them) might be busy and your next meetup will be even more awesome (especially when the last one has been a long time ago).

That is so true, Nixer. In the age of social media, there seems to be an artificial sense of catching up by reading each other's feeds, but nothing beats reaching out and having an old-fashioned real conversation with a friend or family member.

Thank you for having let us get to know more about you! It's been an awesome experience to have this interview with you and I can't wait to see the next steps on your projects, especially the cool IoT Christmas Tree this festive season!

Header Photo by Johannes Plenio on Unsplash

The first word that comes to my mind when I think of Dev Null Productions is... presence. Whether it be via XRP1ntel, the comprehensive XRPL data analytics platform, to Dev Null's informative Twitter feed, or their active contribution to the XRP Ledger by not only running a Validator but also helping with improvements to the core rippled code base, Dev Null Productions will already be there, strategically positioned, when the Internet of Value is unleashed.

But what has turned Dev Null into developing this impressive level of participation in the XRP ecosystem? Mo Morsi, Founder and CEO of Dev Null Productions, attracted by what he describes as the “plethora of activity” he found in the XRP Community raised the question: “What can we contribute?”, and the rest is history...in the making.

XRP1ntel

XRP1ntel is the XRP data analytics platform of tomorrow that is already at reach today. XRP1ntel was conceived from Mo Morsi's notion of adding value to the ecosystem, by enabling institutions and individuals to easily gather insight and decision elements like, which currencies are being sent across the XRPL?, and who is using it?

Overview

Right from its Overview section, XRP1ntel offers an intuitive view of the data gathered and displayed across the platform, grouped into three main domains:

XRP Ledgers: Shows the current active ledger number. At the time of writing it was 51,856,157 but it quickly ticked as the next ledgers were closed.

Accounts: Showing the number of current XRP wallets activated.

Top Balance: Showing the current XRP balance of the Big Kahuna, in other words, the wallet holding the largest amount of XRP (rDbWJ9C7uExThZYAwV8m6LsZ5YSX3sa6US) belonging to Ripple.

Right underneath the three main domains, you can also see the latest activity in the ledger with the possibility of filtering six different transaction types: payments, offers, escrow related, payment channels (an optimized way of sending recurrent payments), accounts set and trust lines set.

Ledgers

In the Ledgers section, you can choose a wide range of options to deep dive into the ledgers, downright from ledger number on the top left side of the page or choose a desired time stamp as shown in on the top right corner of the page if you know the time you wish to search for.

In the two larger sections of the page you can see further details about the ledger being visualized (top): account hash, ledger closing time, among other info. And the accounts that were modified by the transactions in that ledger (bottom).

On the right hand side you can also see an overview and a pie chart showing the distribution by types of transaction for the selected ledger (Payments, offers, escrows, accounts set, trust lines set).

Accounts

In the accounts section you can sort XRP addresses (earliest, newest, most XRP, least XRP, etc):

and also fetch details from each one. For example, in this screenshot we can see the details from one of Chris Larsen's (Executive Chairman of Ripple’s board of directors) wallets:

In the wallet details you can browse for transactions and also for trust lines set and ledger entries.

KYG

Within the Accounts section, XRP1ntel also curates key information about the different gateways through which individuals and institutions can access to transact in the XRP Ledger. Trust is a vital element on gateways, and participants of the Internet Of Value must carry out proper due diligence

Once you click on the gateway you wish to know more about (in this example Bitso), information like the main XRPL address and the obligations for different denominations for currencies for that gateway appear along to the link to its KYG (Know Your Gateway) in the top right corner of the view.

The KYG shows details about the gateway based on the available facts and information. Data that can help XRPL participants evaluate whether a gateway can be trusted or not based on information like:

◾️Associated individuals.

◾️XRPL Addresses.

◾️Contact information.

◾️Headquarters location (Address).

◾️Further references.

The KYG also shows an overview which is an appraisal of the gateway, and the gathered information about it.

Reports

And then we have my favorite section, the reports. Where do I even start on this one? In this section you can access a myriad of reports on the status of the XRP network and also download data and charts. Some of the charts we can obtain from the report include:

Ledgers closed in a given time frame. This gives us an idea of overall network activity.

Transactions across the ledger for different time frames. For example, here is shown the payments and offers overview for December 5th, where 99.2% of the payments across the ledger were done in XRP and most of the offers in XRPL's DEX were done in the XRP/CNY pair and viceversa.

Accounts overview: Showing the top payers and total new accounts created in a given time frame (e.g. 547 XRP accounts were set on December 6th 2019 and Coins.Ph was the top payer of the same day):

The Waterfall

The most recent addition to XRP1ntel is The Waterfall. In fact, this feature had not been included in the original edition of this post and it was added the day it was announced on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/DevNullProd/status/1207695424468992007?s=20

Originally shown in https://wipple.devnull.network/, the waterfall is a sleek visualization of the activity in the XRPL. On the yellow gear on the top right corner of your screen you can find the color codes for each type of transaction and also some options to adjust the visualization (tail length of the falling numbers, speed, etc).

On the bottom of the screen you see further the transactions running from right to left as they happen, and by clicking on one of them, it will open XRP1ntel's explorer with the full details of the selected transaction.

Dev Null on Twitter

If you are an XRP enthusiast, you are on Twitter and and you are not following @DevNullProd you are doing it wrong. Like they say, a picture (in this case a screenshot from their Twitter feed) speaks more than a thousand words:

Dev Null brings its analytics expertise to Twitter and provides insight about new account creations, transaction activity, different currencies being sent across the XRPL, payments and if the XRPL had also beats per minute you can count it would also be tweeted by these folks. An absolute must-follow.

Syracloud, Dev Null's XRPL Validator

In its efforts to add value to the XRP Ledger, Dev Null Productions also runs Syracloud.net, an XRP validator, helping in turn with the decentralization and performance of the XRP Network.

Even More Presence.

A few days after I started writing this blog post, an awesome announcement from Wietse Wind emerged on Twitter: An XRPL Full History Cluster is now available. In his tweet, Wietse also reveals the participation of @alloynetworks and probably Dev Null Productions.

https://twitter.com/WietseWind/status/1202990046795751424

Why is the Full History Cluster so important? A pool of higher quality nodes having history all the way back until XRPL genesis has been made available by trusted members of the XRP Community in addition to the ones ran by Ripple.

Source

And since Wietse's announcement, Dev Null Productions has confirmed its participation in the XRPL Full History Cluster, proving the point that in the XRPL, they are a synonym of presence.

Credits:

Header photo by Franki Chamaki on Unsplash

All screenshots obtained from XRP1ntel.com

Mo Morsi, Founder and CEO of Dev Null Productions was so kind throughout the writing of this blog, that he even agreed to write a personal note for this edition of XRPLORE, which I originally intended to include in the subscriber only section. I found it so authentic, valuable and heart-felt that I changed my mind and decided to share it openly...

Mo Morsi's Personal Note

My journey in XRP and Blockchain in general, like many others', has been filled with ups and downs, victories and defeats, and many, many great stories. Part of the reason why I am so motivated to work on this technology day in and day out, 7 days a week, is that I see the potential for the software and hardware solutions being developed to change the world, driving legitimate social good and a figurative “revolution” when it comes to how humans use and interact with money.

*Of course like any other technology, it is neither good nor evil, and XRP/Blockchain is subject to the same forces which governed all other innovations and advances in human history. The core component to how any technology is used is determined by the community which drives its innovation and adoption, especially in its formative years. I can honestly say the XRP Community is the most competent and professional, as well as the friendliest and most suave community that I have ever been part of. It is a great honour to be part of the company of individuals and organizations that make up XRP Community and while I don't know what coming years will bring, I am confident to say these bonds will last a lifetime.
*

*My sincerest thanks and gratitude go out to all of XRP Community for everything they have given us and rest assured we will be fighting for their interests on all fronts (digitally and in the “real” world).
*

Humbly yours,

Mo Morsi

CEO Dev Null Productions

For the first December edition of The Blab, I am thrilled to interview Leonidas Hadjiloizou! Leonidas is the man behind XRP Arcade, the one-stop for digital assets enthusiasts for all things XRP including a complete list of the players in the XRP ecosystem, exchange listings, and curated content like the latest news, upcoming events and much, much more!

(RR) Hi Leonidas, thank you so much for joining The Blab!! XRP Arcade is an awesome concept curating all things XRP from exchange listings to its full ecosystem, kudos for such an amazing job! What inspired you to create such an insightful resource?

(LH) Thank you for the kind words! XRParcade has been live for almost a year now but I have been following all things around Ripple and XRP for two years. Before starting XRParcade I enjoyed keeping track of listings and partnerships. I chose to add all that content on XRParcade in order to share it with the community and provide a rational and down to earth place that people can go to for factual information. It’s very hard to tell what’s real and what’s hype these days, especially in the crypto world.

(RR) I have seen how several times you have brought to the community the exclusives on new XRP exchange listings before these even make it to the news! You are a natural! Do you have a background in investigations or research?

(LH) Any exclusive news on XRParcade are the result of persistent and consistent searching. I don’t have a background in research but I believe the more you practice something, the better you become at it. When you search on Google, YouTube, Twitter, Linkedin on a daily basis for any information regarding Ripple and XRP you find ways to make your life easier, make up various strategies, decide which places are worth to search in and which are not. Following the right people also helps, there are some excellent researchers in the XRP community.

(RR) Where does the idea of the name XRP Arcade come from?

(LH) The idea was to run a page with info (like it is now) and also include some games that use XRP. Hence the arcade.

(RR) Interesting! I hope we get to see some games in XRP Arcade soon!

Now, let's talk a bit about life...In your opinion, what makes a good life?

(LH) A good life is a life you enjoy. You could find a poor man living a difficult life being happy and a rich man that has it all being unhappy. Having good relations with family/friends and doing something you enjoy are two things that I feel may lead to a good life. Excitement is also an important factor, not getting absorbed in our everyday lives and doing something different every now and then.

(RR) Absolutely, great advice to break the routine every now and then!

What would be the title of the current chapter of your life?

(LH) Changed the chapter when I got into cryptocurrencies, so “Immersed in the world of Crypto” would make sense. On the other hand, if this chapter doesn’t end well “REKT” could be an appropriate title.

(RR) I think many of us can get to share that title if things don't go as planned, but hopefully there will be a recovery soon!

Can you tell us what are three interesting facts about you?

(LH)

1️⃣ Travelling to Singapore for Swell was the first ever trip I took alone. It was a 15 hour trip.

2️⃣ I once killed a hornet with my hand. Had to go to the hospital to get an injection.

3️⃣ When I’m into a project, I NEVER stop thinking about it. Especially when I get a new idea, I just have to start completing it right away.

(RR) Your trip to Swell was quite a trip to take on your own! Kudos for being able to attend the conference! And what struck (or surprised) you the most from Singapore?

(LH) Singapore was absolutely beautiful. What surprised me the most was the level of discipline of the people and how organized everything was. There were rules about everything and people respected them.

(RR) Singapore is an awesome place. I had the opportunity to go there last year. Whenever I go somewhere, one of my hobbies is really to try out the local food, preferably street food stalls. I really liked the Bak Kut Teh, chicken satay, and pretty much everything I tried. Overall the vibe of the city is really great. As you say, it's very well organized.

What can you tell us about some of your favorite hobbies?

(LH) I have always enjoyed gaming, especially after my early twenties when I worked at an internet/gaming cafe.

I enjoy watching football games. Even though I am from Cyprus, my favourite team has always been Tottenham (England) and every chance I get I watch their games.

(RR) Cyprus? I am originally from El Salvador in Central America...It is interesting how the XRP Community is also a melting pot of so many different backgrounds and cultures! Simply amazing. What can you tell us about Cyprus that is normally not known? Any best kept secrets?

(LH) Definitely! Being a member of the XRP community has allowed me to meet people from all around the world, some great people. Cyprus is mostly known for its sandy beaches and great hospitality but few people know that Nicosia (the capital) is the only divided (between two nations) capital in the world. Another interesting fact (or more like legend) is that Aphrodite (the ancient Greek goddess of love) was born in Cyprus. She emerged from the sea at Paphos.

(RR) You mentioned you’re a supporter of Tottenham Hotspur. I’ve always liked the Spurs as well, although I’ve always followed more La Liga and FC Barcelona. What do you think of the recent appointment of Jose Mourinho as manager?

(LH) I’ve been a Pochettino fan for some time now. I truly believed he was the one that would propel Spurs to the next level. New stadium, a relatively young coherent squad, reaching the final of the Champions League. I get why he was sacked but I’m disappointed. Even more disappointed with the appointment of Mourinho. He is a great manager but I don’t particularly enjoy his kind of football. Also, he usually changes the teams he manages a lot and I think that won’t help the team in the long term.

(RR) Mourinho somehow has lived up to the “Special One” legend winning so many titles all over Europe, what a character! By the way...who is the most interesting person you’ve met and talked with?

(LH) It has to be Ripple’s David Schwartz. Met him recently at Swell, only talked for a few minutes but his pure brilliance and unpredictability make him extremely interesting. You could start a conversation with him about anything and he would dive right in.

(RR) Now you've talked to us about the most interesting person you've talked with...let's change the subject just a bit: What’s the most interesting building you’ve ever seen or been in?

(LH) Hm, I’d have to go with the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy. It’s a marvel how it didn’t fall apart all these years and walking all those stairs to get to the top was a unique feeling I never felt in any building.

(RR) Must be awesome! Now a question about tech...What website or app doesn’t exist, but you really wish it did?

(LH) With so many websites and apps out there I’m not sure if someone didn’t create this but an app where you can add users from Twitter, Facebook, Telegram, Viber and other social platforms and chat with them at the same time would be nice. Also an app where governments can incentivize their citizens with micro payments (preferably XRP) if they eat healthy, exercise, quit smoking, etc.

(RR) A fitness app with micro payments would be an awesome idea. Can’t wait for that to happen as nothing else seems to motivate me to get in shape at the moment!

Here's another one...If you had unlimited funds to build a house that you would live in for the rest of your life, what would the finished house be like?

(LH) It wouldn’t be huge, no need for a huge house. It would definitely have a playroom for my girls and a gaming room for daddy and his friends. A lot of outdoor space to have a place to play catch or football with the girls, to have a few toys outside and a pool. A nice barbeque to cook kebab and a bar.

(RR) Ah yes, there has to be a Man Cave and a BBQ would most likely be on my list as well…

And speaking of food...are there any weird food combinations that you really enjoy?

(LH) My food preferences are quite boring, nothing special. I do however enjoy to eat one thing at a time. I never mix the things I eat, something my wife has always found very strange.

(RR) Boring is good in that case. I can tell you about a weird food combination I like: the mixed flavors when maple syrup from pancakes sneaks into the scrambled eggs at breakfast...don't @ me though…😂

(RR) What fictional character would it be the most fun to change places with for a week?

(LH) Indiana Jones! The thrill of searching for a missing relic or treasure, running through the jungle or walking through the desert, it would be a week to remember. Hopefully, I’d survive to tell the story!

(RR) That totally makes sense. You absolutely have a knack for searching for missing relics or information!

OK, one more hypothetical question: If you could choose to do anything for a day, what would it be (it can be more than one activity as you’d have 24 hours)?

(LH) I would take the family to Disneyland during the day and late in the evening, I'd go camping/bbqing/drinking with my buddies. The location doesn’t matter, the company does.

Thank you so much Leonidas for allowing the XRP Community to learn more about you through The Blab! It has been a pleasure to have this conversation and let the XRP Community know more about you!...And a big thank you for the readers of The Blab!

By the way, Coil subscribers get to scroll down a bit further for some additional Q&As with Leonidas! 👀

Header Photo by Carl Raw on Unsplash

It's raining outside. In the warmth and safety of your home, you glance outside and think for a second “I'm glad I made it home before it started to rain”. You even welcome the relaxing sound of raindrops kissing your windows before you decide to grab a coffee and watch some Netflix or catch up with your reading without giving it much further thought.

What words would you use to describe such a moment? Comfortable? Or even perhaps Cozy? If that is the case, you can consider yourself fortunate, as for millions of families in the developing world, unsafe, fearful or even threatened would be more suitable words to describe how they feel.

Extreme poverty and exclusion force thousands of families lacking an adequate home to build slums in high risk areas in otherwise unusable, unstable and unclaimed areas that are prone to lethal mudslides during prolonged rainy seasons. They have no choice. They have nowhere else to go.

Multiple times and in multiple countries, entire communities have not only lost their homes, but also their loved ones as the floods and mudslides resulting from heavy rainfall (let alone tropical storms and hurricanes) have mercilessly taken away everything across their path. Senseless tragedies that would have been avoided if these families had been relocated to dignified homes built in areas that are safe.

The contrast is in plain sight. While on the web we can find nice quotes and artwork that almost make us wish it was raining...

Source

We can also find harrowing stories of the pain that heavy rainfall has brought to thousands of people living in vulnerable areas, like the floods and mudslides that took the lives of dozens of people and destroyed thousands of homes in El Salvador in 2009:

https://www.nbcnews.com/id/33769740/ns/world_news-americas/t/dozens-dead-el-salvador-flooding-mudslides/

Stories like this are repeated virtually every year somewhere in the developing world. It happens time and time again. How can we accept to live in such a heartbreaking contrast? How have we allowed as societies for this to happen? Some of us find comfort and relaxation around the same natural phenomenon where so many others find distress and pain. This needs to change and you can help make it happen.

A great way to get involved is by getting to know and supporting the work of organizations working hard to end global homelessness. New Story Charity, for example, is a non-profit organization that perfectly understands the magnitude of this problem and is designing innovative solutions to tackle it. Either by donating or by raising awareness with your family and friends or on social media by following their accounts (Instagram, Twitter) or sharing their blog, you would be making huge positive impact.

We should aim to live in a world where everyone lives in a dignified home, and where no one is pushed to live in areas where their lives are in danger. Next time you hear the rain drops on your window, remember this post, the millions of people at risk and that you can do something about it.

Header Photo by Gabriele Diwald on Unsplash

XRP's value lies in its utility as the best asset for payments, not one specific event or rumor”.

These words were just as valid on August 24th 2017 -the date [](https://twitter.com/bgarlinghouse/status/900556869181120512?s=20) Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple's CEO tweeted them- as they are nowadays. Though, quite a few things have changed since then in the XRP ecosystem, the most significant being XRapid, now known as ODL (On Demand Liquidity) -the solution created by Ripple to unleash XRP's utility became commercially available in Q4 2018. And thanks to the hard work and dedication of a team of XRPL Developers, we now have a sleek looking and pragmatic way to keep the finger in the pulse of XRP's utility by following up on theoretical ODL XRP transactions.

Conceptualized and developed by @mouradski, with the support of co-creators @badrain344 with interface design and @0llac3 as Hunter analyst, Utility-Scan.com (currently in BETA) is listening to transactions that fulfill specific criteria that has been predetermined by the Dev Team.

How does Utility-Scan fetch theoretical ODL Transactions?

Leveraging on data available from Ripple partner exchanges via APIs (and also exchanges of interest like Coinfield and Kraken), and an algorithm (A recursive function to obtain all possible combinations in the previous 30 seconds and find the group of trades where sum equals the XRPL transaction amount) created by the Dev Team, Utility Scan listens to the XRPL and fetches transactions that meet the criteria set by the Dev Team after having carefully monitored the activity:

◽️ XRP initially purchased in local Fiat.

◽️It is proven that the purchased amount of XRP is sent across the XRPL.

◽️The purchased amount of XRP in the origin exchange is then sold for local fiat in the destination exchange. Here the work of @0llac3 hunting for ODL transactions was fundamental as he observed that the XRP can be sold in the destination exchange in more than one trade (several trades adding up to the exact amount sent from the origin exchange).

◽️ Total elapsed time for the process shall be around 60 seconds.

It is worth noting that the method used by Utility Scan pin points transactions that may be triggered by cross-border payments via ODL and are not confirmed as such by Ripple. This is why I refer to them in this post as theoretical ODL transactions. The Dev Team has also made this clear in their interactions in social media.

Going through the Website

As you land into this Coil-enabled sleek looking website -web design by @badrain34- in the lower right corner, expect to be greeted by a “talking” Brad or a “talking” David with an interesting figure that has occurred during the day (in this case a 101,953.191 XRP transaction considered as the latest theoretical ODL XRPL movement that had been spotted since I visited the site).

USD Day Volume and Summary

In the upper left hand side of the main page, the USD Day Volume chart shows the US Dollar value of all the different corridors where ODL activity as according to the predefined criteria has been picked up for the last ten days.

And just below the USD Day Volume graph, the summary section of the Utility Scan is shown pinpointing quite a few really interesting details:

The first figure shown is the All Time Volume, which is the value in USD of all the ODL activity picked up since the launch of Utility Scan since October 26th 2019 at 11:07 p.m. UTC. The summary also shows the Daily Volume ATH accounting for the busiest day in the XRPL in terms of ODL transactions since the project started listening to the ledger.

The last three bits of info include when was the last ODL transaction spotted, what was its value in USD and on which corridor (e.g. from US Dollars to Philippine Peso as shown in the screenshot).

USD 24H Volume Per Corridor

Leveraging on exchange APIs and created algorithms, the latest activity on different corridors (last 24 hours in USD value) according to the predefined criteria is picked up and displayed in the USD 24H Volume Per Corridor section. Unsurprisingly, the “usual suspects” that appear in the screen are some of the most common corridors in terms of international remittances between Ripple's network of partner exchanges.

The corridors that appear in the graph may change from day to day depending on the activity in the previous 24 hours. If you hove over each of the bars in the graph, you can see the exact volume picked up in the last 24 hours in USD values:

Based on the exchanges under the radar of Utility Scan some of the currencies that can appear in the corridor are the Euro (EUR), Emirati Dirham (AED), and Australian Dollar (AUD).

Last XRPL transactions spotted as ODL

On the below the Summary and USD 24H Volume per Corridor sections we can find the detailed list of latest XRPL transactions that have been picked up as theoretically ODL relevant. Here we can see further details about the transaction that was pointed to us by our friend Talking Brad, just as we landed on the website: A transaction initiated with an XRP purchase in Bitstamp and sent over via the XRPL to CoinPH in the USD-PHP corridor.

Also, in the info section of the transactions list, further details are shown. As there is no API available to connect to CoinPH, let's have a look at a transaction between Bitstamp and Bitso leveraging on the USD corridor:

All dates in Utility Scan are UTC. The info section of each transaction shows the date it occurred as per its timestamp in the XRPL, the exchanges involved along with the groups of trades in each exchange that were involved in the XRP purchases/sales and the destination tag involved in the XRPL transaction.

The full details of the transaction can be conveniently validated by clicking in the Transaction Hash at the bottom of the info section, which also shows additional info on the XRPL side of the transaction like Ledger impacted, fee amount, etc.

What's Next?*

Asking @0llac3 about what has been the biggest challenge so far in setting up the criteria for theoretical ODL transactions, he has also shared a bit of what is in the pipeline on fine-tuning the ODL transactions criteria and filtering.

“We are currently working on separating 2 types of ODL transactions:

1- The ODL transactions in which Ripple is involved (we can establish the criteria of volumes, frequency, exchange used and look at the destination tag),

2- The one-offs, which meet the four criteria but where the volumes, frequencies, exchange used and destination tags do not suggest Ripple's involvement.

To conclude and answer on what is the most difficult in the selection criteria, I will say that it is to overall establish the framework of an ODL transaction: A transaction that uses the XRP to pass from one FIAT to another, respecting the important criterion of speed. Also, is do we consider it an ODL transaction even if Ripple is not involved?

In our view yes, because this is using of the liquidity of the XRP on-demand, but it is a point of view, so the answer may vary from one individual to another.”

*That is not all! A sneak peek into other cool features that are in the pipeline can be found in the Coil Subscriber section at the bottom of the article.

The project is fully-open source. As @mouradski pointed out to me, there is no secret sauce as everything is visible on Utility Scan's Github. This reflects the significant added value that Utility Scan Developer Team is bringing to the XRP Ecosystem, through an insightful and creative way of highlighting the value and utility of XRP.

Header Photo by Quentin Kemmel on Unsplash

NOTE: ***As indicated in their website, Utility-Scan.com is intended to display its contents for informational purposes only, and not to be considered as advice (financial, investment, tax, legal or any other).
***

Utility-Scan.com is independent of Ripple and has not been authorized, endorsed, sponsored or otherwise approved by Ripple or its affiliates. Moreover, transactions displayed in Utility Utility Scan are not confirmed ODL transactions.

Coil has quickly turned into my go-to space for writing and reading awesome content from my fellow authors. Starting this month, I am counting on my newfound cozy writing spot to help me be more consistent in keeping One More Home's friends and donors updated about the exciting things happening around the campaign. From now on, I am posting a monthly digest accessible to everyone: One More Update.

Good Souls Group News

November has been an exciting month so far for the One More Home campaign and for the Good Souls Group. Starting the month on a high note, in GSG we started sporting our new looks in the form of the new logo designed by Salvo Leone, which has won the competition launched within the XRP Community last month.

Welcome Company of Dogs and Veteranet!

Later this month, on November 9th and November 11th (Veteran's day in the United States) respectively we were thrilled to announce and welcome our two new member charities:

Company Of Dogs rescuing dogs and finding them new loving families by supporting the adoption process.

Veteranet aiming to reduce the number of homeless veterans in the United States.

We are absolutely thrilled to add these new worthy causes to the charities family over at GSG. Since earlier this month your donations to the splitter bot @GoodXRP is now split between eight charities as it started also supporting the Company of Dogs and Veteranet.

Masters of Our Domain: Our new website

In the GSG we are so excited about our new logo that we went on to also grab a new website domain to show it off! Now you can visit us and check out the stats for the eight member charities on:

https://www.goodxrp.org

Lots of new exciting things to come for the GSG charities!

The IoT Christmas Tree

It turns out @NixerFFM had a really cool project in store for the festive season! A few days ago he unveiled his bright (literally) initiative to the XRP Community: The IoT Christmas Tree.

Nixer's Christmas tree will be leveraging on the XRP Ledger and will be sending payments to the Twitter handle @XRP_IoT_Tree throughout the holidays, which will be donated to the GoodXRP splitter after Christmas. The Internet of Things meets the Internet of Giving!

https://twitter.com/nixerFFM/status/1197206665382285313?s=20

HKDH Passes Grade with Flying Colors.

In other really exciting news for the GSG Charities, Happy Kids Dirty Hands are now under a 501c3 registered non-profit named @AmwFund
supporting AM Winn Public Waldorf School with Digital Asset Donations. Donations to the splitter that previously went to HKDH will now go to AMW Fund's Twitter XRP Tip Bot account instead.

One More Home News

This month, the One More Home campaign has reached a new milestone: 25,000 total XRP raised thanks to 15901 donations received at time of writing. To the 24331.339342 XRP in the balance at time of writing, we need to add the 710 XRP exchanged for US$333 and donated to the Ahuachapan community built by New Story Charity, whom by the way, have published a video of the families of these communities moving into their new homes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eV9oT_CbY2Q&t=9s

The 25000 XRP milestone was also thanks to Coil subscribers that have read my publications in Coil during this month as since I have set up my payment pointer towards One More Home's Twitter XRP Tip Bot account, almost 23 XRP have been streamed:

Also in November, the famous Cryptoe Man surprised the whole XRP Community with an auction of two posters signed by David Schwartz (Ripple's CTO) where 80% of the proceeds will be donated to Bigbuckor's water filter fundraising campaign and One More Home:

https://twitter.com/CrypToe_Man/status/1195087400109838336?s=20

Shortly after the auction was launched, an initial offer of 1000£ (500£ for each poster) was presented by @MichelleSchlen6
(Twitter handle. With the auction ending on November 24th, I cannot wait tin whose hands this this epic memorabilia will end up!

With the current state of the crypto markets, the One More Home campaign continues to wrap up this month in full XRP fundraising mode ON. No transfer to New Story Charity are planned as we wait for improved market conditions to maximize the impact of your donations through better XRP exchange rates.

I'd like to close this month's update by sharing with you a link to a very insightful blog post about the root causes of poverty posted earlier this month by the team at New Story Charity, the nonprofit that the One More Home campaign is supporting.

https://newstorycharity.org/2019/11/12/causes-of-poverty/

Header Photo: by New Story Charity

Competitions and rankings are a lot of fun. Whether it is sports, gaming, (or even eating!!!) we will always want to know how we stack up against others and sooner or later we find a way to figure it out. It's in our nature. And the XRP Ledger is no exception. Thanks to Wietse Wind's open source Coil-enabled Ledger Exposed, if you hold XRP you can find your place in the XRPL Richlist and see for yourself how how you are hodling up (as rightly pointed in the website) compared to your fellow XRP investors.

As part of the XRPLORE series, we'll have a look into Ledger Exposed with special focus on the three main features shown in the main page where different stats can be consulted:

Seems pretty cool, right? Now let's go one by one:

Your Richlist Index

The Richlist Index is the go-to way to find out how you stack up compared to the rest of XRPL addresses (important to note as this is not the same as hodlers because one hodler can have multiple wallets). To find out you can either enter your XRPL address (or multiple addresses by entering them space separated) or a fixed amount. Let's try with 10000 XRP:

If you are a hodler of XRP, then your place in the ranking in the list at time of writing is 90,655 (which is pretty impressive since it also means you hodl more XRP than 1,762,164 XRPL addresses! 🤯)

The Richlist Index also tells you:

◾ How many more XRPL addresses have the exact same amount of XRP as the amount or address you have entered.

◾ How much XRP is currently sitting in accounts with less XRP than the one(s) you entered (% shown in yellow on the graph in the bottom of the results).

◾ How much XRP is currently sitting in accounts with more XRP than the one(s) you entered (% shown in black on the graph in the bottom of the results).

If I would advice something out of the Richlist it would be: Don't obsess over it. In a Richlist index that takes into account the whole world you are already ahead of 99.5% just by hodling XRP regardless of the amount!

Richlist Stats

Wietse's Ledger Exposed is not only a tool to help you find your place in the XRP Richlist via the index. Through the Richlist Stats, it also offers the possibility of keeping the pulse of the XRP Ledger by letting you easily track how XRP distribution behaves over time.

In the top part of the Richlist Stats page you can see a few bits of interesting data including how much XRP is held by the top 100 accounts (You can toggle between non-escrowed XRP and all existing XRP that would include all of the XRP placed in escrows, including Ripple's own stash). At time of writing, the top 100 accounts hold 74.56% of the non-escrowed XRP.

Distribution by No. of Accounts

On the bottom part of the Richlist Stats page, interest insight about XRP distribution and ownership is shown. For example, it can be established that there are 56 lucky addresses (again, not necessarily hodlers) of amounts between 100,000,000 and 499,999,999 XRP. The accounts listed here also includes organizations and companies working on the XRP Ledger like exchanges or the XRP Tip Bot:

Distribution by % of Accounts

And wonder how much XRP you need to make it to the top 5% XRP addresses (again, not hodlers)? How much does it take to make it to the top 1%? This can also be obtained by selecting to view the Richlist stats by percentage of accounts instead:

Now, this view results particularly interesting (and perhaps my favorite feature in ledger.exposed) as it lets you track for trends in the distribution of XRP over time. For example, the trends in the screenshot suggest that in general, the top XRP hodlers are in accumulation mode, as it now takes more XRP to make it to the top percent ranks than it did back in August.

Escrow Stats

Last but not least, out of the three features of Ledger Exposed home page, we have the Escrow Stats. As defined by the XRPL Developer Portal xrpl.org, “an escrow is a feature of the XRP Ledger that allows you to send conditional XRP payments. These conditional payments, called escrows, set aside XRP and deliver it later when certain conditions are met”.

In Ledger Exposed, the Escrow Stats allow you to filter and sort the different XRP escrows issued in the XRPL depending on different criteria:

Other features

Tx Flow

The transaction flow feature, shown in the upper right menu, lets you create a graph displaying the most recent transactions from and to a specific wallet. To check it out, I entered the XRP Tip Bot's wallet (If you hover one of the from/to accounts you will check the amount of XRP ether sent or received.

And it also produces a table with the details of each transaction including the ledger where each belongs:

Live Tx

On the upper right menu you also find Live Tx, which shows the latest transactions in the XRPL listing the addresses with more than 5 transactions since from the time the visualization starts and the type of transactions involved (either payment, offer create or offer cancel):

The work done by Wietse on Ledger.Exposed has been fantastic, quickly turning it into one of the go-to resources investors and especially for data analysts within the XRP Community. And don't forget what reads in the site: You can always send the man a sip his way 🍺!

Coil subscribers! Plase keep on reading... you'll get to see an updated #sneakpeek of this graph with a longer time frame 👀(Quite interesting if you ask me).

https://twitter.com/WietseWind/status/994276549745692672?s=20

Header Photo by João Silas on Unsplash

For this edition of The Blab we'll have a chat with the multifaceted entrepreneur and technologist Stephen Chip, renowned in the XRP Community as the man behind The XRP Minute and more recently as a key contributor of the recently launched On The Chain.

Chip is also a great friend and contributor to the One More Home campaign having shared his creativity to design the T-shirt that would be printed and sold locally in El Salvador to raise funds and awareness about the campaign aiming to help New Story Charity build homes for families in need in Ahuachapán:

(RR) Hello Chip, thank you for taking part of The Blab! Let's start off with a really exciting topic: On The Chain. How is it like to be part of such a cool project as onthechain.io?

(SC) It’s really special to be part of a great group of content contributors who are like-minded. The idea behind On The Chain was to create a space that would unify communities, reward content contributors, and have a place for new people entering the crypto space to go for good solid information sans the hype.

The XRP community is a solid, engaged community. OTC is bringing other content contributors from other digital asset communities in addition the XRP content.

We are making the content available on many platforms including Cinnamon, Coil, Youtube, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Spotify, and Stitcher. With more podcast platforms in the future.

We have heard from many that they mostly listen to content creators either at work or on-the-go. This is the reason we moved beyond Youtube.

We are very excited about Coil and Cinnamon as well. The move to get away from traditional advertising is very refreshing and it’s fantastic to see Coil and Cinnamon leading the way.

(RR) It's really exciting! Definitely a unified community around a reliable source of information is a major step towards maturity in this space. And what are your expectations and goals towards the future?

(SC) We are planning on adding written content, news, and more.

(RR) By the way, I really liked the teaser short videos “Down With OTC” you tweeted ahead of the launch.

(SC) Thanks! Those were fun to make. You can see the promos by searching the hashtag #downwithOTC

(RR) I can definitely recommend to watch the promos and check out their content! So let's move on to knowing a bit more about you. Where are you originally from?

(SC) I'm originally from a small town in New York next to Niagara Falls called North Tonawanda. Tonawanda means “swift waters.” The Neuter and Erie Indians coined the name, the area's original inhabitants. The population was roughly 24,000 at the time.

(RR) So you have moved around a bit! And how about college? what were you like back then?

(SC) I attended the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. Since I was from a small town, it was a bit of a big city surprise compared to where I grew up. I started listening to alternative music, grew my hair long, joined a band, and became an art school kid.

I made lots of new friends and went to plenty of parties. It was a really an experimental phase of my life. I also studied hard and pulled all-nighters.

(RR) That is pretty awesome! And what type of music did your band use to play, alternative music as well?

(SC) It was probably more along the lines of experimental, but yes, alternative.

(RR) One of the things I admire from you the most is your creativity. You seem to be hard wired to a source of creativity all the time! How do you find your inspiration?

(SC) I remember being in third or fourth grade in elementary school and first reading the short story “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.” It was the first time I really identified with a character in a book. Not to say that I didn’t identify with story books as a toddler.

I really could see the parallels between this Walter Mitty character and myself when it came to daydreaming and always in this perpetual creation mode. I really did feel like an outcast. I would talk to my friends about the way they thought about things compared to my view even as a young adult and it always seemed wildly disparaging.

Going back to your original question about where I found inspiration. Basically, all around me. One of the first big influences were my parents. They always encouraged my creativity whether it was building or drawing something, They always supported me and any of my creative endeavors. I remember my mom driving me to Buffalo to the Albright Knox art gallery for art lessons. It was quite the drive and also was an expense. But my parents really wanted me to find my way.

When many of my friends were announcing the universities they would attend, my parents knew that I wanted to go pursue art. While my other friends from my high school art classes were being told things like “be realistic, pursue a real career, you’re not going to art school.” My parents found a way to send me to art school.

I had visited the school campus one year before attending. Years later, my parents shared that they didn’t know how they were going to get the money to send me to school. At the time they didn’t wanna tell me because they didn’t want to discourage me in anyway. They found a way And I am eternally grateful.

The Beatles were another big influence as they broke every rule at the time when it came to constructing and arranging music. To this day the modern song structure is largely based upon the foundation the Beatles layed.

(RR) To have the support of your parents tin pursuing what you really want in life is definitely the best heritage they can pass on to you.

Who would you say is the most creative person you know?

(SC) My father is the most creative person I know. He can fix anything and always engineer a better solution.

My mother is very creative as well. Although she would probably say that she wasn’t.

My wife is incredibly creative. She handcrafts soaps and body oils.

She sells her soaps and body oils here.

(RR) It all makes sense, as your creativity was really sparked at home!

Can you tell us...when do you feel truly “alive”?

(SC) I feel truly alive when I’m with my wife and two daughters. My wife is an amazing woman and she is one of the greatest blessings of my life. I’m so proud of both of my daughters and who they turning out to be. Watching the evolution in their life is truly amazing.

(RR) That is truly a gift!

Now let's talk a bit about music, movies, literature...What’s your favorite album?

(SC) The Beatles – Abbey Road.

Although, I will supplement that answer with the following:

Legend – Bob Marley

Core – Stone Temple Pilots

(RR) Abbey Road is an indisputable legendary album indeed! Which one is your favorite movie quote ever?

(SC) My favorite movie quote is From Glenngary Glenross. When Blake, the Alex Baldwin character says “Put that coffee down” “Coffee is for closers!”

(RR) What book had the most significant impact on you?

(SC) I’ve read a bunch of great books over the years and would cite different books for different reasons.

From a young age, the Bible, particularly the New Testament, is a great guide for how to live your life. I am thankful now that I had to study the Bible growing up going to Catholic school. Back then, not so much.

I liked the” The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho. It’s a beautiful story that I believe we can all relate to. That which we seek, we already have. Sometimes we cannot see it ourselves.

A book that really helped me transition from the creative space to the business world thee “The Art of the Deal,” I first picked it up in an airport and read it on the plane.

I later reread the book in the mid 90s and it had a measurable impact. The company I worked at the time was attempting to put some deals together and were unsuccessful. I asked if I could take a shot and they laughed and said “sure, go for it.”

Needless to say I was successful and this new skill set came in handy with my first startup.

(RR) Quite a nice selection, out of those, I'd also highlight The Alchemist. As somebody said: “The secret of having it all is knowing you already do”.

And let's chat a bit about the future...what are you looking forward to happening in the coming months (other than XRP mooning)?

(SC) I’m looking forward to getting my new stealth startup going.

(RR) Stealth startup? That sounds awesome! Can you give us a scoop?

(SC) I can say that it’s in the blockchain space.

(RR) Ok, can't wait to know more!

Now let's have a few questions for fun: If you were featured on the local news, what would you most likely be on there for?

(SC) Probably for business or helping someone.

(RR) Can you tell us your go-to joke?

(SC) A horse walks into a bar. The bartender asks: “why the long face?” Maybe not the best but the only one I remember.

(RR) 😂 That's a pretty good one!

Let's suppose life is really a game, what are some of the rules?

(SC) The best way to answer is a quote by Steve Jobs.

When you grow up, you tend to get told that the world is the way it is and your life is just to live your life inside the world, try not to bash into the walls too much, try to have a nice family life, have fun, save a little money.

That’s a very limited life. Life can be much broader, once you discover one simple fact, and that is that everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you. And you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use. Once you learn that, you’ll never be the same again.

And the minute that you understand that you can poke life and actually something will, you know if you push in, something will pop out the other side, that you can change it, you can mold it. That’s maybe the most important thing. It’s to shake off this erroneous notion that life is there and you’re just gonna live in it, versus embrace it, change it, improve it, make your mark upon it.

I think that’s very important and however, you learn that, once you learn it, you’ll want to change life and make it better, cause it’s kind of messed up, in a lot of ways. Once you learn that, you’ll never be the same again.

(RR) Thank you Chip for having shared about your perspectives and different aspects of your life! It's been a real pleasure to have this interview with you. 💬

And dear readers, as a reminder don't miss out on the XRP Community Choice Awards tonight at 7pm EST streaming live on YouTube, where Stephen Chip will be presenting the Graphical Artistic Creator Award. Here is the link to the event!

When trying to come up with a mental picture of the XRP Ledger, perhaps the first thing that comes to your mind is the myriad of numbers and letters passing by as ledgers close, maybe you think of an old-school paper ledger or maybe even nothing in particular comes up to your mind. The first issue of XRPLORE is about an application that will help you build a mental picture of the XRPL and if you run it long enough, you might even feel like you're stargazing just in front of your screen.

The Ledger Observer is a real-time visualization of the XRP Ledger, using graph structure composed of nodes and links, where nodes show XRPL addresses while links represent the different types of transactions occurring between the addresses:

◾️OfferCreate

◾️OfferCancel

◾️Payment

◾️Escrow related

◾️Others

The Observer, announced on July 5th is an overhauled version of its predecessor: A Living Ledger and is revamped with a new architecture that allows for developing new features. To start your own visualization just visit ledger.observer click on 'Start Visualization' and see how the ledger unfolds before your eyes:

The Name-Search Feature

One of the latest features added to the Ledger Observer is the name-search functionality, which leverages on Bithomp's name API, which allows a drill-down visualization to include the public addresses of organizations that have been validated by Bithomp upon submission. A few examples of the organizations you can visualize in the Observer thanks to this functionality are Gatehub, Bitstamp and the XRP Tip Bot. For example, here is a quick glance at one of Bitstamp's wallets.

To check out this functionality I ran the visualization for around 3 minutes and searched the XRP Tip Bot, which in the illustration is the orange dot on the left side of the screenshot.(The desired name may not appear if its address has not been involved in a transaction since you start the visualization, so you may have to wait for a couple of minutes for it to appear).

In those three minutes a lot occurred (even for a Sunday which was when this screenshot was taken):

◾️Specifically on the XRP Tip Bot one escrow was created as shown in the left upper side of the screenshot (Transaction details for that escrow would have been shown in Bithomp Explorer if I had clicked on the transaction link). Bear in mind that this visualization does not show tips being sent; instead, it shows the interactions between the XRP Tip Bot and the XRP Ledger (Withdrawals, deposits, escrows).

◾️Generally on the XRPL, while I had the visualization running, around 2700 transactions occurred in the XRP ledger at an average transaction speed of 14.8 transactions per second and 46 ledgers were closed.

Other Features

A couple of the features from A Living Ledger were inherited by its new version: auto rotation of the visualization can be enabled/disabled, and it is also possible to show/hide the interface leaving only the representation of the Ledger on the screen.

Another really cool feature is the color-coding (Flashing red) of unsuccessful transactions as it can help spot unusual activity on the ledger.

Use Case

The main use case of the Observer is to produce visualizations of what is going on in the XRP Ledger and its main goal according to the Dev Team over at XRPChat is to “create a tool for real-time analysis of the ledger for the public”.

The Ledger Observer, fully open-source available on Github is also Coil-enabled!! So by checking the movements of the XRP Ledger through the visualizations, you are also streaming payments and supporting further development of this amazing application.

https://twitter.com/LedgerObserver/status/1149191647659462657

Finally, don't forget to follow the Ledger Observer's Twitter account: @LedgerObserver to follow up on the latest updates and insight about this awesome and ambitious side project.

To check other amazing projects built on the XRP Ledger, visit XRPLORE.

Credits: Header Photo by Nathan Anderson on Unsplash.

Screenshots taken from ledger.observer