I started thinking about it, Bitshares isn't a stock or ownership over the company that is writing this software, right?
And it doesn't have any revenue stream associated with it. Right? The delegates are the ones who get paid, right?
I'm not saying it doesn't, I'm just trying to figure it out, what gives BitShares value?
It actually DOES have a revenue stream associated with it. Transaction fees paid by users of the network are burned (part burned, part go to referrers). Each time BTS is burned in this way it is revenue for the Bitshares DAC.
If revenue from this exceeds payments to workers, then the DAC is profitable. The burning of BTS acts the same way as a company's share buyback program, causing the value of each remaining BTS to increase.
This can be valued in the same way as a ocmpany, with a P/E value and growth rate.
Of course, until it becomes profitable, the valuation is based on speculative value of future expected returns.
Almost no other crypto has this potential to be profitable and provide a return, but Bitshares does. (There are probably a couple others, but not many). Most cryptos are just inflating, money losing tokens. BTS has an end goal of becoming a profitable DAC and paying money to its holders.