From Virtual Currency to Cryptocurrency
By: Henry James Banayat
Tags: Opinion, Bitcoin, Bitshares, Cryptocurrency

Even before Satoshi Nakamoto presented the revolutionary idea of a peer-to-peer electronic cash system, I have been involved in the creation and promotion of virtual currencies that are derived and generated by putting people to work which can be likened to STEEM’s Proof of Brain concept. Like STEEM, I believe in the value of human capital in ways ever imagined, specially in their ability to provide content. Monetizing Content is done by becoming a Google Adsense Publisher and distributing those earnings to authors, curators and commentators on our Wordpress-based Platform. Rewards were distributed using a platform on storing and distributing Complementary Currencies called COMPUCEEDS (derived from Compumatrix Proceeds) on Cyclos. The problem with Cyclos is that the platform was for sale, it was centralized and the software management was tedious. The free version of it doesn’t provide as many functionalities as the paid version.

The emergence of the open-sourced Bitcoin platform changed the entire playing field. With it, virtual currencies became digital assets which are immutable and irrefutable proof of digital property ownership through cryptography which we now call cryptocurrencies.

Cryptocurrencies presented a whole new paradigm in monetization.

The transition was not easy. Most of my members are not savvy enough to understand that their activity points, credits and earnings are now turning into digital assets which they can use to trade in exchange for cash, goods, services or other cryptocurrencies on a global scale. The revolution opened doors, breaking international boundaries, and each unit of digital asset became a means of securely communicating money over the Internet without the need for a middle man such as Monetary Financial Institutions (MFIs) and Banks. What’s cool about this is that cryptocurrency owners are in control of their assets: from distribution, marketing, and sales. The middleman (usually banks and MFIs) seemingly gone in the equation.

Along came Bitshares

Converting our digital assets from the Cyclos platform to a blockchain-powered system required a lot of thought. First of, it has to be something that is easy to use, where transactions are processed as fast as Cyclos, and would not be too cumbersome to my members. We had to decide whether we would create a new altcoin. However, transaction processing requires too much time if we were to emulate the Bitcoin platform at that time. I had to look for something better. Finally, I saw the Bitshares platform.

Bitshares to me is an all-in-one solution and platform. It is a one-stop shop for acquiring a digital asset that is on a decentralized wallet, non-gibberish address, on an exchange that uses tools from Tradingview. Topping it all? It processes transactions faster than any known decentralized blockchain. And thus we decided to use it. This is a perfect fit to what we have in mind.

Did I say Bitshares is an all-in-one decentralized platform? It is currently gaining traction as the need for decentralized exchanges increase amidst the call for regulatory control. Bitshares can be a lot of things:

A Wallet

A Cryptocurrency and Digital Assets and Tokens Hub

A Trading Platform

A Decentralized Exchange

A Prediction Market

A Decentralized Crowdfunding Solution, and

An Affiliate Program

There is no other platform out there that offers these features. Open your Bitshares Account on our Compumatrix Ecosystem today.

Recent developments on the Bitshares platform continues to evolve as the user experience and user interfaces are simplified for the casual user.