XRPLORE: Bithomp
The XRP Community hardly ever unanimously agrees on something. Perhaps we can all agree that “XRP is the greatest digital asset ever created”, and that's about it. Well today I have another notion where we can all reach consensus (no pun intended): No proper blog series highlighting XRPL projects can ever be complete if it doesn't include Bithomp, the go-to XRP Ledger explorer...
And while the words of Wietse Wind on all things XRP course carry weight, Bithomp has an impressive list of accomplishments that show its essential role in the XRP Ledger:
• The first user-friendly XRPL explorer, operating
since 2015
• One of the first non-Ripple validators added in the UNL
• Running its validator since September 2017
• One of the first XRP paper wallets.
• The first browser based XRP wallet supporting
mnemonics, offline mode and multi-sig
• The first XRPL explorer with hardware wallets support (An open sourced library was developed to use with ledger, ellipal, secalot)
• The first Testnet explorer for XRPL (also testnet tools).
Bithomp stands at 3425 followers today, let's show them some follow love on Twitter: @bithomp
Alright, let's get to it by first going over Bithomp's most widely used application: It's XRPL explorer, which you can access directly from their homepage by entering either a Ripple address, username or transaction hash in the search bar above the main menu:
Addresses or Usernames
Let's start with an address. And as with all examples in XRPLORE, let's also try out Bithomp's explorer using XRPLApps' address used to tip XRPL validators, which is
From left to right, the first information appearing is related to the account, including whether it has been claimed (in this case it has been registered by xrplapps.), date of activation, method of activation -meaning where did the activation funds proceed from, in this case the XRP Tip Bot- and Bithomp username if applicable (you can create a username in Bithomp, which we'll also check out).
Next, we have the balances, showing real time balance of XRP both reserved and available (and other currencies or IOUs that may be also held by the account), the detailed list of transactions with the possibility of loading additional 100 transactions each time in order to view them, and finally any further accounts activated by the entered account.
Transaction Hash
In the same search bar where we entered the address or Bithomp username we wanted to check, we can also look at XRPL transactions by entering the transaction hash:
which shows a detailed overview of the entered transaction, including its type, time and date and also its source and destination addresses, in addition to further details like memos in the transaction, its amount and its related fee.
Going back to the homepage, it also displays a series of key figures on XRP and the Network: Its price in various denominations (USD, EUR, CNY and BTC), and also the number of activated accounts along with active nodes and validators in the XRPL:
Bithomp Services
Even if you are a relatively new in XRP, chances are that you had already come across the Bithomp Explorer, for example it is the default explorer to check XRPL transactions in Ledger Live, the application for your Nano Ledger hardware wallets.
But in addition to its legacy explorer, Bithomp offers many more functionalities (which I'd like to cover more in-depth in a dedicated post)
Login
The login page allows supported hardware wallets and apps from the following to leverage on the wide range of features offered by Bithomp Tools. Bithomp currently supports:
Username Creation
Through the username creation feature, you can assign a username to your XRP address:
Which comes in handy to conveniently send send funds when you log in on Bithomp via Xumm, hardware wallet (Trezor, Ellipal, Secalot, Nano Ledger) or to quickly check the account activity in the explorer (by just typing the username instead of typing or copy/pasting the XRPL address):
One example of XRP accounts with an assigned username in Bithomp is the XRP Tip Bot:
XRP Tools
Bithomp Tools
Bithomp Tools offers the possibility of working in online or offline (recommended) modes and works with secret key, mnemonic and Ledger Hardware Wallet. Some of its main features allow you to unlock the many possibilities of the XRPL including:
◽️ Multisignature signing (Offline mode).
◽️ Send a Payment: XRP or any IOU.
◽️ Add or Remove a Trustline.
◽️ Place or Cancel Buy/Sell trade orders.
◽️ Add a Gravatar to your XRP account.
◽️ Assign a Domain to your XRP account.
◽️ Create, Execute or Cancel Escrow.
◽️ Add a regular key.
◽️ Add a list of signers (multisig).
◽️ Add a message key.
◽️ Set a flag to Require destination tag.
◽️ Disallow Incoming XRP.
◽️ Enable default rippling.
◽️ Disable Master Key.
Submitting a Transaction
The Submit transaction functionality allows you to submit a signed transaction by entering the signed transaction blob (or blobs if it is a multisig transaction).
To learn more about transaction blobs, you can visit the Transaction Basics page in XRPL.org
Generating a Wallet
Another convenient XRP tool offered by Bithomp allows you to quickly generate XRP wallets (which then you would need to activate by depositing at least the reserve amount of 20 XRP):
As pointed out, never share your secret key with anyone!
Testnet
Also, as mentioned, Bithomp offers the first Testnet explorer (and tools) for the XRPL, which you can freely use to learn more about the functionalities of Bithomp and the XRPL in general before jumping with both feet to the real deal:
Wallets
Back in the homepage, in the Wallets section, Bithomp walks you through the different options to own a Ripple wallet from:
◾️ Hardware wallet (A review of different options in the market)
◾️ Desktop wallet (Not originally developed by Bithomp, although Bithomp offers the possibility to download)
◾️ Paper Wallet (Which Bithomp also offers, and can be a great method to gift XRP to friends and family or as cold storage). Example:
◾️ Web wallet (Wallets that can be accessed via web browser, Bithomp Tools falls within this category and can be used both online and offline).
Instant XRP account Activation
In the early (the really early) days when there were not so many exchanges having listed XRP (and the ones that did had cumbersome KYC processes), it was tricky to buy XRP to quickly activate your own new XRP addresses. Bithomp identified this need and established one of its legacy services, the instant XRP account activation which is offered still today (Via PayPal and PerfectMoney):
With this service you don't need to buy XRP in an exchange to have your new XRP address activated.
XRPL Info
Last but not least, Bithomp dedicates a section to XRPL data, including information about the last ledger closed, account and trust line reserve requirements in place and XRP distribution key figures.
Also information on the first accounts (aka genesis) which includes their genesis XRP balance, their current balance and the nickname, some times indicating to who the account belongs:
XRPL Validators including rating and UNL rating (if listed):
and XRPL nodes:
Bithomp on Social Media
To stay up to date on what Bithomp is up to, you can always follow Bithomp's official account on Twitter:
And a pro tip, if you want to stay up to date on what the price of XRP is up to, follow @bithompAlerts and turn notifications on to keep a finger in the pulse of the price of XRP:
https://twitter.com/BithompAlerts
As with the rest of the XRPLORE series, this piece on Bithomp is not meant to be an exhaustive review. I would really like to invite you to discover Bithomp by yourself. This will help you learn more about the XRPL, specially these days where you may be finding yourself with additional time which can always be used to learn new things.
I'd like to wrap up by thanking Viacheslav Bakshaev, founder of Bithomp for such an in-depth insight of this XRPL powerhouse and for the exclusive interview he has given me for our Coil subscribers.
Header Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash
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