This bit is very interesting:

Quote

Pursuant to the agreement, Ripple Labs will also undertake certain enhancements to the Ripple Protocol to appropriately monitor all future transactions.

Could regulators put pressure on Bytemaster & co to change the BitShares protocol? Of course the answer to that would be "the community has the source code and wouldnt accept those changes" (I would fork them out immediately).

Is the main difference that Ripple was selling the XRP themselves, so its not really centralized whereas BitShares isnt really owned/sold by any one group?

It helps to consider different classes of activity.
Done right, I would expect to see the following.. and it seems the UK perhaps is gearing up for this.
Ripple is clearly Class 2 below and no surprise from the fine, I would expect strict KYC and AML will be enforced on them.. quite right too.
BitShares atm is Class 3 and perhaps BTS could be considered Class 1.


Class 1: Money
# Would expect: No regulation or Government intervention needed here.

Class 2: Money transport
# Would expect: KYC and other consumer protection and the usual requirements for money transfer services, might be appropriate.

Class 3: Tokens with value pegged to match other assets
# Would expect: No regulation or Government intervention needed here.

Class 4: Tokens that are explicitly linked to real world assets
# Would expect: Government could help establish licensing and making the law clear and responsive in ways that help evidence and enforce the explicit link between digital token and asset.

Class 5: Zero value applications, such as private key signing.
# Would expect: No action at this time.


and then also, I've suggested before:
Class 2 and Class 4, could benefit from having a certain level of Government regulation and consumer protection. While digital currencies or tokens can represent value, it is only those explicitly linked to real world assets and wealth that need Government regulation and consumer protection. Blockchain technology, for all its acting in place of third party authority, cannot bridge the gap from the internet into the real world.

Class 1 and Class 3, needs no regulation by Government and would suffer from that. The exchange of those classes between people, might need to be acknowledged and understood by courts and in legislation. To be clear, the values within these digital currencies and pegged assets, are a private concern and it would be inappropriate and unnecessary for Government to interfere with those interests.

ehm .. most content if not all in the wiki has been written for FREE by volunteers of the community .. how come you think you can get paid for doing it?

People are free to pitch for a delegate in whatever way they want. Votes win prizes..

What do you think about bitcoins difficulty in governing  itself?

Consensus is everything. Consensus follows from form resolving over time. Hammer the same point over and over until everyone is fed up with it. Only then make a change. Too much changes are hard to follow and unsettling.

People like stability. If they are uncertain, they will not invest or they will move to the next novelty. Same goes for all projects.

Done right, BitShares has huge potential. Nothing has substaintially changed.


At the moment everything blockchain related is something like survival of the fittest, the strongest and most persistent thoughts will survive. Uncertainty rules as legislation frustrates innovation but those projects that are prepared and ready for a big influx of investment once that is given the green light will succeed.

I keep repeating my view relative to BitShares because I think it's key: We need focus, to help resolve and establish sustainable consensus.. and we need to ensure the message is crystal clear and unambiguous.. [Milestones; a clear list of what is unique about BitShares; a Mission statement; a Vision statement] will help with that. The GUI seems to have taken a big step forward and I've not looked closely but I expect there efforts to make it faster to update and especially on first use.

PR perhaps then can help define the limits and parameters of what's likely and possible, so consensus is easy. The worst case is that nothing is defined; everyone with their own interpretations of uncertainty and expectations for BitShares, and all those then finding more difference than similarity. Which again, is why having input from leaders is key to maintain focus.

One of my previous posts critiqued the wiki, for addressing only one audience. Put a link at the top of the forum to the singular detail that literally everyone should know. PR perhaps can help making that detail clear to different audiences. Think like someone who knows nothing about BitShares and stumble over the different entry points. Are there enough examples of what to expect?

There is value in effort that breaks new ground, reaches out and engages new investors - communicating the message clearly.

It's not a matter of working hard but working effectively. The form of PR/marketing we do not need is the form that large corporations use cynically as damage management.

Anything that can leverage interest and new business, that can release devs and others who can work more effectively on other areas, is worthwhile.

So, perhaps we need more Sales/marketing than PR/marketing. Whichever way you want to consider it, there is work to be done ensuring that those who could use BitShares understand its potential.

Where is the low hanging fruit?.. Is it possible to get into MSM? Producing YouTube vidoes maybe useful but is enough being done to ensure that the message is getting where it's needed. Navel gazing adds no value.. Is BitShares talking to new people?.. Again I think setting out the stall with simple elements that can act as hooks and catch the curious, do matter: Milestones; a clear list of what is unique about BitShares; a Mission statement; a Vision statement.

PR experts perhaps can review the outputs and reform those for different audiences.. channel people by their interest to what they need to know, make it simple to understand and simple to action their interest.

That would be a good idea for PeerTracks too.. are they limiting themselves to music or all art?.. It does seem to be music obviously but could easily be any digital art??

Perhaps could have an indicator on a scale of 1 to 10, so we know how excited to get?..

1.. Progress as normal
2.. New PR brochure out in June.
.
.
7.. Partnering with Ripple
.
11.. Partnering with the a central bank and BTS will be rebranded as GBP.

Place your bets.. 

Gift Off UK adds Fifty New Gift Cards to their Collection & Expands Operations Further

Gift Off which specialises in offering gift cards in exchange for over 27 different digital currencies has just this week added another fifty options to their range of over one hundred and eighty gift cards already available, as well as expanding their operations into another few European countries.

See https://giftoff.com/

I have to say I hesitate because I cannot find proof that they are not just using stolen credit cards.. which would be a simple scam to work.

Still if it's for real, then perhaps BitShares and bitUSD.. or better bitEUR and bitGBP should be included?
https://giftoff.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/202402432-Can-you-add-this-currency-to-Gift-Off-