Abbreviation: BTS
Bitshares is a distributed ledger that operates on the delegated-proof-of-stake (DPoS) algorithm. It was created in 2014 by Dan Larimer, who also went on to develop Steem and EOS.
It is based upon the Graphene open source C++ code. This was also used for Steem and PeerPlays.
BitShares operates more as an equity rather than a straight currency since BTS tokens are used as collateral for a variety of decentralized financial services.
The activities that are used:
- smart contracts
- decentralized exchanges (DEX)
- banking
- derivative creation
- currency rails.
The derivatives are market pegged called BitAssets. Many of these are designed to replicate fiat currencies.
This is often overlooked. A central aspect to Bitshares is the bitUSD, a digital asset that is pegged to the US dollars. It was an innovation that could be considered one of the first stablecoins.