Stablecoins

For cryptocurrency to be taken so seriously as a legitimate contender to replace the incumbent banking regime, it has to build a reputation of security among potential cryptocurrency investors.

Security in a sense that people will have peace of mind going to sleep thinking about their money will have the same value as they wake up the next day or so.

Crypto Currency Volatility

Apparently, this is one of the true weaknesses that has been floating around the cryptocurrency space which needs to be addressed if we are to build a decentralized banking system that lives up to its name.

I do not proclaim myself to be an expert in the field, nor pretend to have a master's degree in finance.

However, the way cryptocurrencies behave as they appear nowadays is something that is not in complete alignment to its revolutionary potentials as envisioned by Satoshi Nakamoto.

Is Bitcoin a Bad Investment?

This is not to be understood that Bitcoin, et al, are such a bad investment opportunities however—as they are in fact one of the best in the financial market.

The thing is, most of these so-called virtual currencies no longer serve the way they should be.

Needless to say, cryptocurrency has become the most phenomenal speculative investment ever which is primarily due to its low barrier to entry—allowing virtually anyone with internet access to instantly become an investor.

So far sounds great! But in doing so, are we really on the right track of overthrowing the existing traditional banking solutions?

We are not! Every time we feel the need to secure our profits, we always convert some of them into fiat hoping to buy back again once the price dips.

Silly, but this is how things are happening right now!

The Need of KYC Compliance for Exchanges

Despite its simplicity on the surface, still not everyone can do the same thing.

As we all know centralized exchanges are such a law abiding agents.

There is no way for you to easily translate crypto assets back and forth into fiat currencies unless you are, or willing to submit yourself for KYC verification procedure.

What about those who are unwilling to disclose their real identity online?

Here Comes Tether's USDT

That is going to be a classic dilemma. Either they will retain the monetary value in a form of virtual currency(s) they are investing in and face the ruthless market volatility or convert to Tether (USDT) for the promise of stability with several serious risks lurking around the corner.

Going back and setting aside all these equally dangerous options.

The big question remains—is this really the one we are looking to achieve out of building all these immutable distributed ledgers in the first place?

Certainly not! Sure we need crazy volatility to make some real profits overnight. I call it the gambling side of cryptocurrency.

Token Utility

But what about some real-world use cases? Where I am able to pay my water and electricity bills because merchants around the world believe in my crypto payment as something worth exactly the same as government-issued money.

While I believe cryptocurrency is here to stay—and so capitalism is—I am on one hand far from convinced it is going to replace the current government backed monetary system. Not so fast!

I am not saying it is impossible. What I am saying is, unless there is a robust crypto economy in place to guarantee that my 1 Somecoin will have the same value as your 1 Somefiat, regardless of whales playing their usual pump and dump game, banks and other forms of centralized monetary institutions aren't going away anytime soon.

BitShares to the Rescue

BitShares tries to solve this problem with its own self-governing ecosystem where users will be able to take advantage of the fully functional decentralized exchange.

The economic model is beautiful but the user experience is unattractive for the average Jane or Joe.

We don't want to bring in crypto literacy for mass adoption by requiring people to get familiar with basic economic principles, not to mention the counterintuitive interface.

Simplicity Is Missing

What people want is just a few clicks of a mouse in order to secure their hard-earned money without the need to watch a YouTube ‘How To’ video tutorials.

BitShares has lots of potentials and it has lots of rooms for improvements as well. Like what happens when investors start to pump the collateralized asset? Will the pegged BTS be able to uphold the intended range value?

BitShares has a solution but by no means it is a be-all, end-all decentralized solutions.

The Competition Has Just Begun

Several decentralized projects are lining up on the bookshelf, each claiming to be the next big thing. Some are backed by a solid team of experts behind, while others are outright scam!

Hopefully one of those will soon fill the missing link—bridging the gap between next generation tech and solid crypto economy for a truly decentralized society.