What's really matter in your test is Zcash vs. BTC confirmation time. I mean it's not fair at all. BTC is slower and confirmation times may vary - you can wait even hours.
Try with fast coins, like BTS -> STEEM or STEEM->BTS for both service. Then you can say which one is faster.
I can only say, that sending OPEN.STEEM from Bitshares exchange to Steemit wallet is... realtime* . I don't know how fast it take with conversion BTS -> STEEM but i guess faster than shapeshift.
* couple seconds.
Well you won't get any argument from me ..Bitcoin is feeling like an old technology, waiting to be supplanted ..BY STEEM! :)
Your Bitshares comments are interesting...but of course that was not what I was testing here - maybe next time. This was simply purchasing STEEM from Bittrex via Blockshares with a less than perfectly accurate comparison to Shapeshift ..as you say, results will vary, but I was suprised how close the results were in this particular case.
My point was: use the same pair on both services. While you're waiting for BTC confirmation, Zcash is already confirmed and service may realize your order. I mentioned Bitshares exchange because Openledger withdrawals are realized by Blocktrades and it's work very fast compared to Poloniex. And that withdraw to Steemit wallet I did mention earlier was mindblowing for me.
Let me put it another way ..
"People", real people .. NORMAL people .. are not going to use f'n OpenLedger or Bitshares to buy STEEM .. not now, not ever! Shapeshift is the most user friendly ... most consumer-friendly option that I have seen to-date. So .. yes Bitshares, is fast, decentralized, technically superior so on and so forth .. but sadly this is IRRELEVANT!
I posted about the virtues of decentralized exchanges months ago ..
https://steemit.com/crypto-news/@kurtbeil/centralized-exchanges-have-been-very-harmful-openledger-to-the-rescue
The thing is, the mass of people that we want to come to STEEM & STEEMIT will use what is available to them 'here' , inside this interface .. which is blocktrades at the moment .. and which .. in my humble opinion, is so ugly and complex it scares people! :) Only crypto enthusiasts use Poloniex and Bittrex .. only they are crazy enough to trust them, but we are talking about average Facebook users here .. most do not have the time, nor interest to go through the learning-curve necessary to setup and use an exchange account.
So, as you can see .. speed is not the only issue and it should not be the priority - "prettiness!!" would be a better thing to start thinking about. :)
Have a nice day.
Yes, I must agree with that, but your speed comparision was so wrong that i couldn't resist to comment. If you would have done Zcash to STEEM in both cases i wouldn't say a word. After all you wrote that Shapeshift is little faster. So let's check :
Blocktrades : https://blocktrades.us/
Shapeshift: https://shapeshift.io
Sent 1000 bts to both services. Received:
Both conversions were instant.
Both services gave me confirmation but different way.
Only Shapeshift allow to specify output memo which is nice if you want send directly to exchange.
Thoughts:
Normal people will not use it, so whatever for them...
It's easier to find coin with dropdown list.