The market cap comparisons with MasterCard have really struck a chord - thanks for the post.

I am invested in Ripple since like August and it has just blown up with a few ups and downs along the way. I have already cashed out my original stake and am just letting the profits roll now.

I did my research and saw that the early investors in the company were Google Ventures, Santander, Andreessen Horowitz and other big players... I was confident in my investment from that point of view. One thing I always tell people is that the XRP token is not a necessary part of their Blockchain and Interledger Protocol. Some of their partners have just been developing their own token on top - there may never be a need for XRP.

However, I am riding the wave, willing the ants to join the party, while just gradually converting the XRP gains to LTC.