American Banker, Richard Samson – [Editor’s note: This article is based in part on SUPERMONEY: The New Wealth Beyond Banks and Bitcoin, which appears on Samson’s Futurist blog published by the World Future Society.]  While Bitcoin grabs headlines, a little-noted rival promises to supercharge all currencies old and new, fiat and cyber. An open-source programming system called the Ripple protocol could transform commerce and banking by making dollars, yen, euros, bitcoins, and even loyalty points virtually interchangeable. The Ripple protocol, based in part on the system behind Bitcoin, is a payment and currency exchange system that erases the barriers between fiat currencies while also embracing digital currencies and other representations of value, ranging from gold to frequent flyer miles. It goes beyond Bitcoin by providing a code system that leaves no currency—including bitcoins—out.”