Ripple Desktop/Online Client

[rootvegetable]

Do the terms of the FinCen fine and subsequent agreement allow Ripple to create and provide a client for the general public to use to access the xrp ledger? I've read the official agreement, and summaries, and commentary, and it's not clear to me whether not Ripple will be able to provide a consumer client at any point in the future. Here is a link to a post that contains links to some of the relevant documents, and some commentary on the matter. The best I can tell is that after certain periods of time Ripple will be reevaluated for their compliance on certain issues outlined in the fine, but it's not clear to me if that reevaluation includes the possibility that certain restrictions on Ripple's behavior could be removed. 

 

[EasterBunny]

https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/opa/press-releases/attachments/2015/05/05/settlement_agreement.pdf

At the end of the document you can see the date of the signed agreement.

I think they are free to do as they please on May 5 2018.

 

[rootvegetable]

1 hour ago, EasterBunny said:

https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/opa/press-releases/attachments/2015/05/05/settlement_agreement.pdf

At the end of the document you can see the date of the signed agreement.

I think they are free to do as they please on May 5 2018.

 

Thanks, you've pinpointed the section people have been citing to support the idea that Ripple can introduce a client this year, specifically after May 4, 2018. 

Quote

The Company’s obligations under this Agreement shall have a term of three (3) years from the date that this Agreement is executed. However, the Company shall continue to cooperate fully with the Government in any and all matters relating to Bank Secrecy Act violations, subject to applicable law and regulations, until the date upon which all investigations and prosecutions arising out of the conduct described in this Agreement are concluded, whether or not those investigations are concluded within the term specified herein. The Company agrees that its cooperation pursuant  to this paragraph shall include, but is not limited to, the following:

...

The Company represents that it has implemented and will continue to implement a compliance program as described in Attachment B, designed to prevent and detect violations of the Bank Secrecy Act throughout its operations, including those of its affiliates, agents, and joint ventures.

The more I read Attachment B, the less clear it becomes that Ripple Trade MSB (as opposed to Ripple Labs) was ever prevented from providing an xrp ledger client. However, if we assume that Attachment B does impose such restrictions, it's then not clear to me that those restrictions necessarily go away when the end of the Agreement term is over. I'm not a lawyer, so I'm not sure what the conventional reading of this document would be.

[MaxEntropy]

Wallets ARE a network component. It is silly to see them as otherwise,

[EasterBunny]

32 minutes ago, rootvegetable said:

The more I read Attachment B, the less clear it becomes that Ripple Trade MSB (as opposed to Ripple Labs) was ever prevented from providing an xrp ledger client. However, if we assume that Attachment B does impose such restrictions, it's then not clear to me that those restrictions necessarily go away when the end of the Agreement term is over. I'm not a lawyer, so I'm not sure what the conventional reading of this document would be.

I'm with you on that. Maybe they choose to play it safe for a few years and discontinue all wallet services. If they don't offer a wallet service they don't have any chance of being in violation of the agreement. 

Even after the 3 years is up, there may be some valid reasons for them not to create a wallet client. 

[rootvegetable]

15 minutes ago, MaxEntropy said:

Wallets ARE a network component. It is silly to see them as otherwise,

What do you mean?

[rootvegetable]

45 minutes ago, EasterBunny said:

I'm with you on that. Maybe they choose to play it safe for a few years and discontinue all wallet services. If they don't offer a wallet service they don't have any chance of being in violation of the agreement. 

Even after the 3 years is up, there may be some valid reasons for them not to create a wallet client. 

I don't have enough information on the legal side of things to understand the cost benefit analysis of creating a consumer wallet. All I can say is that I think a Ripple provided consumer wallet would be very beneficial to Ripple's objective of making XRP the decentralized digital bridge asset of choice.

[Atomic1221]

Maybe our friendly Nebraskan, @Lawyer can help us out if we page him nicely!!?

@Lawyer Do you have an opinions on this buddy? Thanks for responding. 

[Lawyer]

12 hours ago, Atomic1221 said:

Maybe our friendly Nebraskan, @Lawyer can help us out if we page him nicely!!?

@Lawyer Do you have an opinions on this buddy? Thanks for responding. 

@Atomic1221, I only said I was Nebraskan.  I never said I was friendly... 

I read the Settlement Agreement.  Ripple is not prevented from providing a wallet client as long as: (i) the entity operating the wallet client is registered with FinCen as a money services business; and (ii) all wallet holders are required when registering for accounts to submit their identification information; (iii) Ripple complies with BSA, AML, and applicable law.

I agree with @rootvegetable and @EasterBunny that Ripple probably decided at that time, the juice wasn't worth the squeeze, and put its wallet on hold.  There's nothing in the Settlement Agreement that prevents them from rolling it out today.

[KarmaCoverage]

@TiffanyHayden any new wallets services you know about?