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The proof-of-work solution is simple but has many drawbacks (waste of time, energy and uncertainties about its security in the future).

The consensus solutions proposed by Ripple/Stellar are too complex, and with complexity also comes uncertainty/risk. (See Stellar catastrophic failure!)

What do you think are the chances of someone coming with a simpler solution, out of the box, something much more straightforward that no-one has thought about it?

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    Ripple is effectively completely centralized.
    – Claris
    Sep 4, 2015 at 8:21
  • @Bitcoin That doesn't really act as an example of why it can't be done, because avoiding centralization was never one of the goals of Ripple.
    – Nick ODell
    Sep 4, 2015 at 8:57
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    @NickODell Mostly pointing out that Ripple/Stellar being complex isn't an argument against it being a replacement decentralized consensus.
    – Claris
    Sep 4, 2015 at 9:00

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The double-spending problem had been unsolved in decentralized protocols for decades. It seems unlikely that a second (different) solution would suddenly materialize.

It never was a problem in centralized setups, where the central entity would provide a referee function.

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  • Didn't ripple do it? Not going into the merit of if it is better or worse, but it is an alternative solution, correct?
    – Peter Mel
    Sep 7, 2015 at 19:03
  • Quoting Bitcoin (the stackexchange user) : "Ripple is effectively completely centralized. – Bitcoin Sep 4 at 8:21". Your question doesn't make sense of you allow for centralized solutions, so I'm assuming you're asking about a decentralized solution.
    – Jannes
    Sep 7, 2015 at 19:57
  • @Jannes You are correct. For a centralized solution the double-spending problem does not make any sense. So what is all the hype around ripple? Did they solve the double-spending solution or not?
    – Peter Mel
    Sep 7, 2015 at 22:07
  • They're just trying to hijack the bitcoin success to promote their own stuff. Up to the point of claiming with a straight face that it is decentralized. You see that a lot in bitcoin space, or any space where money is involved. Always beware of the vultures.
    – Jannes
    Sep 7, 2015 at 23:36

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