[dmix]

Can someone "explain like I'm 5" what some of the use cases are for this service? I've been following bitcoin and distributed services for a while and I'm still confused (or lazy).

The website copy is extremely abstract and non-specific. It's in need of a copywriter.

[spiderbro]

Here are a couple of uses cases off the top of my head. This is by no means comprehensive.

* The ability to issue shares in your company/startup and have them be traded from Day 1. Unlike BTCT/BitFunder/Havelock, Counterparty is a P2P protocol and cannot be shut down by regulatory agencies. Kind of like BitTorrent.

* The ability to trade XCP for Bitcoin and vice versa without relying on any fallible counterparty. There is no centralized exchange to steal money from you or fail like MtGox. There is no escrow required to trade with peers because Counterparty guarantees atomicity of transactions.

* The ability to place a variety of different bets. Currently the protocol has support for simple contracts-for-difference (CFDs) and binary Equal/NotEqual bets. Why is this useful? You could for example hedge your exchange rate risk completely by being short a XCP/USD contract. This allows you to hold your wealth in cryptocurrency but have no exchange rate risk. Another use case is sports betting. There was a friendly bet on the Super Bowl, for example.

[PhantomPhreak]

Counterparty is software that allows you to create and trade virtual assets (including BTC), make bets, pay dividends, and more, with all other Counterparty users, safely and pseudononymously, with no middleman at all. It extends Bitcoin's functionality beyond simply moving money from one address to another to that of a larger collection of standard financial tools.

[cazzoduro]

It let's you trade tokens using bitcoin... i hope you understand that...