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# BitShares versus Bitcoin

I admit, daily I am looking at the best opportunity to make a quick buck, but after doing some intense investigation into several coins, I believe the one that could all make us immensly rich is the one that is grossly misunderstood.
Perhaos a BenchMark between BitShares versus Bitcoin puts better into perspectiv what BitShares is all about.

I have chosen to write about BitShares as much as I can, first of all because I am invested in it, but secondly because I strongly believe in what Bitshares offers and as it is a complicated crypto to initially understand it probably needs more exposure, so people know what they are missing out on. 

# Bitcoin vs Bitshares BenchMark

We are still looking at Bitcoin as the number one coin, but what are we expecting of Bitcoin and is it realistic to think that Bitcoin will be used as a reserve currency in the future?
Here we will test both currencies and see how they measure up.

**Coinmarketcap**
Clearly [Bitcoin]( https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/bitcoin/)  wins here as number 1.
[Bitshares](https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/bitshares/) today is number 27.

BitShares today is worth _(65.4 Billion/ 202 million)_ **308** times less than Bitcoin. 

**First movers advantage**
Bitcoin clearly wins here, active since [2008 ](http://en.bitcoinwiki.org/Main_Page) versus BitShares [2013](https://bitsharestalk.org/index.php/topic,14019.msg182300.html#msg182300).

**Total transactions**
BitShares wins here it deals with as much transactions as the top 3 coinmarketcap coins together.

**Transaction speed**
The amount of transactions Bitcoin could handle before Segwit was 7 tx per second after the Segwit implementation is [11 tx per second](https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/6wdhem/almost_11_transactions_per_second/).
Bitcoin Cash might be able to do [15 tx per second](https://www.quora.com/How-many-transactions-per-second-will-the-new-Bitcoin-Cash-BCC-cryptocurrency-be-able-to-handle) in November after another hardfork.
Compare that with VISA that deals on average with [2000 tx per second](https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1812451.0).
BitShares can handle [100000 tx per second](https://bitshares.org/technology/industrial-performance-and-scalability/).

https://bitshares.org/technology/industrial-performance-and-scalability/

**Transaction Fees**
Bitcoin [transaction fees](https://bitinfocharts.com/comparison/bitcoin-transactionfees.html) are still huge averaging around 2$ even after implementation of Segwit and are directly related to the price of Bitcoin. Truth be told the fees did recently drop from 8$ to 2$. 
BitShares transaction fees are neglible, as of right now they are 0.012 bts (less than 1 cent ). Transaction fees of BitShares can be found on the BTS wallet.

**Future Proof**
Now there are a few possible options to make Bitcoin workable and I would very much advise you to read the following link and make your own decision as to what will need to be done to get Bitcoin even close to where Bitshares already is.
One of which is the much spoken off Lightning Network but that will present many issues by itself.

https://bitsapphire.com/segwit-and-lightning-networks/

BitShares is a clear winner here, it is only limited by the speed of light in terms of how much it can handle and it is lightyears ahead of Bitcoin with it's graphene BlockChain (used also by EOS/ Steemit and Peerplays)

**Usage as a reserve currency**
Well on first glance Bitcoin wins here, it is accepted by aprrox. 100000 merchants whereas with BitShares right now not much can be bought.
However we must take into account the fees involved for any purchase  and as you can see in the below link, BTC is just to expensive for small purchases. 
So BitShares would win as a reserve if it is going to be adopted mainstream versus Bitcoin. 

https://betanews.com/2017/07/13/what-can-you-buy-with-bitcoin/

**Energy usage**
Bitcoin loses here.
Bitcoin mining uses up as much electricity as Croatia. 
BitShares uses Delegated Proof of Stake (DPOS) no energy usage required for mining

http://docs.bitshares.org/bitshares/dpos.html

**Clones**
No clones for Bitshares, clearly wins here.
Bitcoin now has a clone called BCH which could potentially overthrow Bitcoin if it becomes more profitable to  mine, this by itself brings with it a huge risk for only holding Bitcoin as you might be too late to recognise that BCH  or some other clome in the future will be adopted.
BitShares is unique and will be very unlikely to find competition as it is technologically milestones ahead.

If we all go down this road of BTC or BCH we will continue to deal with huge uncertainty as it will become more apparent every year that it will be too slow and too expensive to use Bitcoin.

**Referral program**
Bitcoin has none
BitShares offers a referral type of programm similar to what paypal used to attract the masses
source: https://bitshares.org/technology/referral-rewards-program/

**How many people are involved**
I haven't been able to find true numbers but it looks like that very few are holding incredible amounts of Bitcoin.
Less than 1% of the world population is probably involved in Bitcoin.
Although BitShares deals with many more transactions on a daily basis it is difficult to say how many users it has.
Bitcoin most likely wins here, but the higher Marketcap doesn't directly mean it has more users.
It could mean some very rich people bought tons of BTC and it is recognised that very few hold most BTC?

**Growth potential**
Here I will be biased.
BitShares wins here by the simple fact that it is right now 309 times worth less than Bitcoin yet it is probably 10000 times better on pretty much all technical fronts and as a reserve currency.
It is unlikely Bitcoin will grow 309 times anytime soon.

# The Verdict
This is about as much I can think of that can be compared, because Bitcoin doesn't offer much more, I think it is fair to say that BitShares is a huge winner on almost all fronts.
Bitcoin has had the first movers advantage and created a lot of trust amongst crypto enthousiast, but I believe BitShares is much better placed to become the core of crypto. 

Bitshares is a place that offers a stable and safe haven for storing wealth, for either companies or individuals, that allows anyone to instantly move their wealth into different risk investments as one sees fit.
It offers a way to be your own bank.
 
In the end what is it that we expect from a crypto-currency?  I feel that all the answers to that question can be found in BitShares not in Bitcoin.
 
----------------------------------------------

To sum up what BitShares offers more I need a couple of hours time probably, but to name a few things:

**Safest exchange in the world**
Bitshares is a decentralised exchange (no middle man which is a huge thing), it is close to impossible to shut it down.
Decentralization of the exchange gives BitShares robustness against failure because any attack or failure impacts only a single user and their funds. 
Being among the first approved tokens by the [TXSRB](https://www.txsrb.org), the BitShares DEX has essentially become the safest exchange in the world!

**Stoken (security token) exchange will be build on the BitShares network**
Embracing the TXSRB and SEC rules, regulations & laws will make the Stokens Exchange, the first and most legally compliant way for a company to successfully secure funding without the chance of a shutdown, lawsuit or investigation. 
The Stokens Exchange is the future of crypto and it will be built on the BitShares blockchain.

[@stan post about Stokens](https://steemit.com/bitshares/@stan/bitshares-based-sec-compliant-tokens-and-exchange)
[must read stoken exchange huffingtonpost article part 1](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-sec-has-set-its-sights-on-cryptocurrency-exchanges_us_59c2ae9be4b0c87def8834ab)
[must read stoken exchange huffingtonpost article part 2](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/protect-yourself-from-the-coming-crypto-crack-down_us_59c11f48e4b0c3e70e7427c9)

**Reserve pool**
BitShares has a reserve pool of near 100 million USD currently being used for development. As BTS price grows so does this pool and future shareholders will be able to vote how this money will be used towards new state of the art projects.

**Bitshares offers Smartcoins**
Hero coin is a smartcoin which offers a [5% savings](http://docs.hero.global/en/master/) account pegged to the dollar of 1913. 

BitShares also offers other SmartCoin investments like:
- BitUsd pegged to dollar,
- Bitoil pegged to oil
- BitGold pegged to gold

**Bank**
BitShares can function as a bank, offering ways to use Bitshares as collateral to take out loans against the collateral.

**EOS**
BitShares will be combined with EOS to create BTS 3.0 (a huge deal!)
https://steemit.com/bitshares/@kayahan/bitshares-ceo-stan-larimer-hints-at-eos-bitshares-bts-collaboration-in-bitsharesdex-telegram-chat

**1 billion$ charity**
BitShares has 1 million locked up which will be used for a charity, due to the growth potential of bitshares the idea is to grow this charity into 1 billion$ before handing it over to the winning charity team.

Follow @stan and check out http://billionherocampaign.com

This will complete my somewhat biased BenchMark, if I got any details wrong please correct me, I did my best to be as transparent as possible.

The more I write about BitShares the stronger I feel my money is placed in the right hands. Join me in spreading the news about BitShares so it finally get's what it deserves!


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