I first used BitShares in August 2017 and find myself using it more and more for crypto trading. Because it is a "decentralized" exchange, you only need to provide a user name to get started, a major difference from the traditional "centralized" exchange where you must provide numerous personal identifiers to open an account. I find the network is very quick to process transactions; the UI is laid out well and you can margin trade, although margin positions must be fully collateralized--thus different than margin trading you might use at a traditional brokerage. BitShares doesn't have the volume and liquidity of a major centralized exchange (pick any one) but that is changing as more and more users adopt it. Check it out here --> https://bitshares.org/
Noticed this article on Zero Hedge today where BitShares was mentioned. The author discusses Decentralized vs Centralized currency exchanges and Wall Street manipulation of Bitcoin and Ripple.
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-01-04/anatomy-crypto-nightmare-ripple-ceo-now-richer-zuckerberg
Pull quote:
"This is why I continue to bang on about the need for decentralized exchanges where the kind of manipulation described above is harder, if not impossible, to pull off. I fundamentally do not believe most of the ‘liquidity’ that exists on exchanges like HitBTC, Bittrex, GDAX, etc. exists."
The exchange is called OpenLedger no? BitShares is the currency of exchange. We looked into it, but found the withdrawal fees to be rather high on OpenLedger. have you tried depositing Steem and then withdrawing the same amount of steem to test how big the withdrawal fees are? If you do this, let us know bc we'd love to be able to use it, but it just seems like they pilfer too much of the funds.
is there a way to track or chart the increase in volumes on OpenLedger/bitshares-exchange?
We're REALLY unsure what the quote means, why would Bittrex volume not be legit??
following you, u seem to have ur sh!t together
Hello harpooninvestor
Firstly, I'm not an expert here but I might be able to shed some light on your comments and questions.
I tend to look at BitShares and OpenLedger as two different entities. The BitShares exchange (https://bitshares.org) uses the currency bitshares and OpenLedger exchange (https://openledger.io) uses its own currency called obits. I know bitshares (the currency) acts like a quote currency, so you'll find markets like USD/BTS for example and others on the BitShares exchange. I trade regularly on the BitShares exchange and I hold bitshares (BTS) in my portfolio. I have not experienced any big problem with fees per se, but I have not moved too much in or out of the exchange. The fees may be different on OpenLedger but I wouldn't know. On the BitShares exchange there are some currency pairs that have wide spreads, so that is an issue which I'm more familiar with, but like I said I think this is getting better as more people come on board.
I believe the people who run OpenLedger built their product and services based on BitShares code. So they forked it or created a derivative of BitShares. And this is why the two websites appear to similar when you're looking at the web pages of each.
Where the two appear to differ is in the exchange trade volume. I have accounts on both and when I observe the OpenLedger exchange I don't see the liquidity that I see on BitShares. OpenLedger offers a number of services besides just an exchange, yet I don't know exactly where their services run parallel with BitShares and where they offer distinctly new or different services. I haven't taken the time to necessarily compare them.
I'll share a couple links I find valuable...
https://steemit.com/bitshares/@steempower/bitshares-state-of-the-network-2nd-january-2018 This comes out weekly and offers up information you're seeking about exchange volume. It also reports user growth, partnerships, etc. Follow the @steempower blog
This is the blockchain explorer for BitShares. You should check this out even if you're not familiar with blockchain explorers. I like to see what other people are buying. That has helped me see opportunities for my own trading. The site is very user friendly with easy-to understand charts. Info about witnesses (nodes), etc.https://cryptofresh.com/
Happy trading to you and I hope my rather novice understanding of this topic is helpful.
We had no idea "BitShares" branded their OWN exchange. It's the same exact format as OpenLedger. Do you have seperate login credentials at BOTH? Already didn't like setting up for OpenLedger's exchange, so really not willing to try to login to what looks like a copy exchange using our OpenLedger info to test that theory out, simply bc it could be a hacked exchange in the business of stealing passords? If they ARE the same, this seems incredibly unwise of OpenLedger bc they are creating confusion as well as fear.
Try to deposit 100 steem into Bitshares Exchange, and then turn around and withdraw same amount back to your Steemit wallet. See what they charge you in withdrawal fee, we found it exorbitant on OpenLedger. For this reason, we're not using it, until someone finally answers our question on withdrawal fees. We keep asking the question about the withdrawal fee, and no one seems to know the answer or care. Maybe that's why it's so high.
OBITS are like shares in OpenLedger. Any profits made by the exchange, beyond what they pay programmers to update/improve it, are distributed to OBITS owners. in this way, they act as shares in a virtualized decentralized "company".
Bitshares are SUPPOSED to be just the medium of exchange on OpenLedger, such that things can trade as pairs to bts. Like CNY seems to be the favorite, which means some chinese punters are finding the site helpful in dodging their constantly-changing legal landscape in crypto and the Yuan. What the Chinese govt is doing is a whole nother story. Anyway, if the asset class (Yuan, USD, bitcoin, rubles, gold...etc...) is paired with BitShares, then they call the asset a "smartcoin" bc it's the result of a smart-contract using BitShares cryptocurrency.
Upvoting your comment simply for pointing out Steempower blog, which we followed.
Thanks for this info! I realize this post is archived; but, the info is still very relevant. For the first time in 'months' OpenLedger has finished work on Steem/SBD. I've never withdrawn from the account; but, am under the belief that they have low fees.
Peace.
@davewagner, Thanks for this post, even though it is an archive. I've learned more in these few lines than in some white/blue papers ;+).
Peace.