[philrapo]

There is a fixed/finite amount of XRP, just like there is a fixed amount of BTC.

The Ripple protocol destroys negligibly small amounts of XRP with each transaction as an "anti-transaction SPAM" measure. It's a negligible amount of money. This anti-SPAM fee currently equates to about $0.0000001 per transaction. If you hypothetically applied that fee to every single bitcoin transaction that has ever occurred, it would total a whopping $2.64. [1]

It's pretty misleading to suggest that fees are "effectively paid to" Ripple Labs (formerly Opencoin) as if it's some greedy scheme. It's actually quite an elegant design to protect the Ripple network from DDOS attacks.

Yes, this does very incrementally benefit ALL holders of XRP, since it has the effect of decreasing supply. And yes, Ripple Labs is the largest holder of XRP.

But no one is laughing their way to the bank collecting some sneaky fees....

[1] Source for bitcoin transaction volume data: https://blockchain.info/charts/n-transactions?timespan=all&s...