You can mine gas even with a single Neo. The rewards are not bad. I held 35 Neos for about a month for 1 and a fraction of Gas. That's just free money, can't complain about that.

Ripple tech doesn't hinge on XRP...you're right on that, but that doesn't mean the general assets of Ripple (XRP) will gain with Ripple's gains.

And lastly...Stratis! I think it's going to hit its stride in 2018.