Where do we stand on merchant adoption
Interesting you said "where do we stand". That's exactly the right attitude. I hope you're planning to get involved and volunteer some of your time to help grow your investment.
Right now to many people are taking a laid back approach by buying BTS and then sitting and waiting for everybody else to run around doing the work.
It seems like drumming up end user demand for bitassets would be one of the best support paths for BTS
I agree. What do you suggest should be done next? What are you willing to do next?
NullStreet Journal recent edition showcased all the work the Delegates are doing.
As far as merchant adoption goes.. I think historically part of the issue has been the ongoing development of bitshares to the point that it has not been easy for merchants to get tools to work with. Beyond this though there was also the lack of onoff ramps.. this effectively locks any kind of transactions in the BTS space.. or you could convert to BTC and then to dollars to pay for product and end up with spread losses and transaction charges that end up keeping credit cards just as a better solution.
There is a Delegate though who has developed a series of ecommerce plugins for bitshares bitassets. Again though, without onoff ramps it makes it extremely difficult for a product seller to accept the process unless you are a fanboy and willing to take those extra measures.
It's only very recently that things have improved and infrastructure steps are being made.
I myself have programmers working on something I created called SAFE that will become a system for merchants to utilize in their business that combines our DEX market while removing the need for coupons and discount codes from their marketing. I know that sounds cryptic, but details on it are coming soon in a webinar.
Then, there is of course the power of your VOTE. Look at the projects that each delegate represents and if you feel it has value and they are trustworthy and capable in their execution, simply vote for them to join the 101 and get hired by the blockchain to bring that value to bitshares. Projects I am involved with related to delegates include:
VOTE: delegate.dposhub-org - DPOSHub - The source for delegate news and information for the community and worldwide media. More on this will be announced soon.
VOTE:
http://vote.bunkermining.com - MineBitShares AKA BunkerMining - We currently have referred more real users and brought more real utility to BitShares than any other project.. and we only scratched the surface in proof of concept. Now we need to expand and with further funds and development can double bitshares volume, increase transactions, and drive new users to bitshares from POW, create a new standard for measuring profitability instead of by BTC, and create a new index system that will become a new measure of the crypto space. Think of it like the S&P of crypto. We currently have 1 of 6 new delegate bids we are seeking to be voted in so that we can build this all faster and move into profitability and then leave our delegate positions asap.
There is also what I am doing with
www.bunkershares.ca as you can see from my profile.. that however is not a delegate bid.. it will mean however massive exposure and a real case study for bitshares adoption in a real bricks and mortar business.
So I guess like C4E said.. hope you are prepared to help build your investment if you see a viable cause you can contribute too.. go for it.