The bottleneck to adoption and utility is bootstrapping liquidity. Always has been.
Step #1: You need bitUSD liquidity.
Step #2: Do stuff that ONLY makes sense on a decentralized exchange and/or with stable crypto.
So we all know #1 needs to happen before anything else can occur. Once you've got decent liquidity:
a) The referral program will actually work because conversion will be good (people referred will actually generate income for the referrer). In fact, I would recommend lowering fees until you have some initial traction and conversion increases.
b) BitUSD can be used for gambling.
c) BitUSD can be used to securely trade altcoin derivatives on the DEX.
d) BitUSD can be used in countries with unstable currencies.
e) BitUSD can be used to buy stuff on the darknet (especially with stealth transactions).
A stable crypto has a ton of utility but only if it's liquid. Everyone who follows and develops for this project obviously gets that. The only discussion going on right now should be how to get to a liquid USD. The story of bitshares has, from the beginning, been a chicken and egg problem and I'm honestly not sure it can be solved at this point. Someone tell me I'm wrong?