If I’m understanding the wiki documentation right, you can basically think of Ripple as a Bitcoin in which everyone can issue as many bitcoins as they want but each user produces a different kind of bitcoin.
So (I assume) the way it can operate as a distributed currency exchange is if there is someone with Yen out there and someone with USD out there and either Yen-guy or USD-guy trust each other directly or their is a web of trust between them. So RandomJoe can sell Yen-guy coins for stuff and buy USD-coins then USD guy will give actual cash to him.
Yes, I think that’s how it could go down. Or Yen-guy and USD-guy could exchange currency directly, or they could do it hawala-style indirectly (for example: Yen-guy could hand out yen to anyone wandering into his Tokyo shop with USD-guy coins, and then USD-guy, to settle his bills with Yen-guy, can fly in and visit Yen-guy with a case of wine which Yen-guy can drink or sell).
So (I assume) the way it can operate as a distributed currency exchange is if there is someone with Yen out there and someone with USD out there and either Yen-guy or USD-guy trust each other directly or their is a web of trust between them. So RandomJoe can sell Yen-guy coins for stuff and buy USD-coins then USD guy will give actual cash to him.
Yes, I think that’s how it could go down. Or Yen-guy and USD-guy could exchange currency directly, or they could do it hawala-style indirectly (for example: Yen-guy could hand out yen to anyone wandering into his Tokyo shop with USD-guy coins, and then USD-guy, to settle his bills with Yen-guy, can fly in and visit Yen-guy with a case of wine which Yen-guy can drink or sell).