Ripple (XRP) has officially patented a system that will allow it to carry out transactions under a “smart contract”. Is Ripple planning to compete with Ethereum with this system?
Ripple Labs, one of the most well-known blockchain companies in the world, received a patent for its software system that includes smart contracts with its application to the US Patent Office on September 29. Written as the patent holder, Ripple’s former CTO and Coil CEO Stefan Thomas. In addition to Thomas, Evan Schwart, the creator of the Interledger protocol that allows blockchain-based cryptocurrency payments, was also the patent owner.
Ripple Has Been Racked Before
Currently, the Ethereum ecosystem is the main blockchain for creating and running smart contracts. The projects and protocols involved to create their own smart contracts every day play a major role in the development and proliferation of the Ethereum network. But even before the Ethereum network went online, the idea of a smart contract system was circulating in Ripple.
Before leaving Ripple, Stefan Thomas was working on the Codius system, which could rival the Ethereum network. If everything went along with Thomas’s plan, Codius could serve as a bridge between XRP and other cryptocurrencies.
However, the project was shelved by Ripple for many fundamental and technical difficulties. Later, Thomas founded his own company Coil and parted ways with Ripple before he could realize this project. Now, with this patent move, Ripple may have decided to go over the project again.
Details of Ripple’s Smart Contract Patent
The system is planned to run on the “smart oracle” model. Smart oracle is the name given to the computer platform that can accept information about a situation specified in smart contracts. According to the patent, guarantees should be given that the software including smart contracts will not interfere with the participation of third parties in the planned system.
