On August 9, 2019, Twitter user and developer H_M_X_ (@hmatejx), a member of the XRP community, announced that he will be releasing an automatic detector for Ripple xRapid transactions from US Dollars to Mexican Pesos.
Automatic detection of xRapid transactions from Bitstamp (USD) to Bitso (MXN) comming soon… pic.twitter.com/d7CQmsbGwF
— H_M_X_ (@hmatejx) August 9, 2019
Making good on his promise, he has published an initial version of the xRapid search script on GitHub, and announced the same on Twitter.
Initial version of xRapid search script published! Don't expect too much though…https://t.co/DTStu32RBD
— H_M_X_ (@hmatejx) August 22, 2019
While the script is interesting on its own, it can also lend itself to various use cases, something which wasn’t possible previously. The developer said that this will generate data proving that adoption is happening in practice. The release was met with a lot of different reactions online, with one Twitter user noting that this could be used to make an external XRP report completely independent of Ripple. Transactions that can be viewed are not however, watermarked by the exchange used to execute it.
No, they're not marked as such. You need to know what you are looking for.
— H_M_X_ (@hmatejx) August 9, 2019
Bob Way, a former employee of Ripple, tweeted that xRapid transactions happen off the XRP Ledger at external exchanges. When this script was brought to his attention, he did not comment. However, H_M_X_ did respond, stating that the evidence of xRapid transaction data is only circumstantial and that drawn conclusions depend more on transaction volumes and the circumstances under which they occur.
I don't think there is any way to know because most (all?) xRapid trades happen off the XRP Ledger at external exchanges. This is purely a function of where the liquidity currently is. It actually works more simply on-ledger.
I don't know why it isn't listed on the quarterly.
— Bob Way (@bob_way) August 14, 2019
I'll be the first to admit this is all just circumstantial evidence.
However, the weight is more on the volume of these transactions and the circumstances: always the same destination tags & close proximity of corresponding trade events on Bitstamp and Bitso.
— H_M_X_ (@hmatejx) August 14, 2019
The developer also detailed the process of how he differentiates between Ripple xRapid transactions and non-xRapid-related transactions between two exchanges in this Reddit comment, doing his own analysis of the data to back it up too.
Summary of last 24 hours:
– 210 xRapid-like tx's
– 28.6k USD transferred & exchanged to MXN
– 30-31 USD most popular amount, followed by 500 USD
– 4 tags identified, 2 usual suspects (very active), two new potential tags pic.twitter.com/tUkcoHgjHB— H_M_X_ (@hmatejx) August 22, 2019
While optimistic about possible future developments, H_M_X_ is convinced that it cannot be taken beyond XRP trade monitoring without involvement from other developers. However, the developer did not mention any plans to do so.
Able: yes. Time: no. Extra mile: maybe ??
— H_M_X_ (@hmatejx) August 9, 2019
Blue-sky? A full-featured web portal monitoring the future IoV streams (not limited to XRP)!
— H_M_X_ (@hmatejx) August 23, 2019
