Excellent!
JonnyyBitcoin, good to finally "meet" you -- my bots have been trading with you, I actually got an alert from one saying you may have been trying to manipulate the BTC market when you were buying bitBTC like crazy while the market was so thin. When I investigated, I saw you were a "true believer" and your trades were aggressive but followed a rational strategy. I was afraid you were trying to drive it to a blackswan, but that would have hurt you more than you would have gained based on your positions.
We need more people like you that are trading and actually know the system, thank you for sharing.
Here are some more tips for everyone to generate profit and to keep BitShares working efficiently:
1) Sell high
2) buy low
3) never sell an asset for less than it can be settled for
4) if you can buy an asset for less than it can be settled then buy the assets and settle.
5) If you think a premium to buy a smartcoin is outrageously high, short it. While SQP exists, make sure you load up on collateral to compensate.
For all the gold bugs:
Forced settlement is both the "gold standard" and the "federal reserve." It is the "gold standard" since you can always redeem your smartcoin for the equivalent value in something else. It is the "federal reserve" since it incentivizes the destruction of smartcoins when supply exceeds demand such that value is maintained. What (fiat) currency in the world exists without either a "gold standard" or a "federal reserve?"