When Bittrex halted trading of BTS, the reasons that flew around the rumor mill were specious. So I decided to give BitShares a closer look, because I'm hard wired to be contrarian. I'm happy that I did, and ignored the FUDster trolls.
Not only was I pleasantly surprised, but I'm really starting to love what I see and experience. With its speed-of-light t/ps compared to BTC/ETH/LTC and its DEXy ways, BitShares is truly crypto currency at its most evolved.
Also, I must say that I like the idea of Delegated Proof-of-Stake (DPoS) better. I've not taken to mining. Those full node wallets that take forever to sync? Nothing against them, but it's not my bag. And with the recent problems BitCoin had in reaching scaling consensus under PoW, I like users voting on proposals.
Blockchain use-cases such as Peer Play (PPY) and the Open Ledger DAC (OBITS), are of particular interest to me. So is Steem and EOS. I also love how I can use my BitShares ID to sign-in to other decentralized exchanges, like Crypto Bridge.
Perhaps the most underrated part of BitShares are the BitAssets like bitUSD, bitEuro, bitGLD, etc. They're crypto currencies 1:1 with the underlying asset. Fly-to-safety in one of them, borrow or loan, or go liquid to fiat if I choose to. All good.
There is a lot made in the crypto community about ending fiat money and the USD, in particular. Regardless of the US Dollar's future as a reserve currency, I think fiat money that is both a predictable (albeit very flawed) MOE and SOV isn't going anywhere, anytime soon.
BitAssets like bitUSD that offer all of the advantages of crypto currency on a permissionless blockchain and DEX - along with BitShares lightning quick settlements - are crypto currencies that are more likely to be adopted by mainstream businesses and consumers. In other words, BitShares is scalable now.
There is tremendous opportunity for BitShares in merchant services. I worked in merchant services, once upon a time. And I can tell you that merchants have no love for Visa/MC/Disco/AMEX.
Visa/MC Interchange rates and rules, in particular, are hated. It's ripe for disruption and competition, if the right crypto currency POS solution comes along. Could that be BitShares? Yes, I think it's very possible.
It's early days for me on the BitShares DEX, but so far so good and my portfolio has gained nicely already. I look forward to more, including its pending GUI update.
Cheers!
