## What Is BitShares (BTS)?

BitShares is a decentralized platform designed to provide a more efficient global payment network and is commonly used for securely trading cryptocurrencies without any intermediaries. 

It was originally launched in July 2014 under the name ProtoShares (PTS) but was rebranded to BitShares (BTS) less than a year later. 

The platform is powered by the BitShares (BTS) token, a native utility token that can be used for several purposes, including the creation of smartcoins known as “BitAssets,” which can have a variety of parameters and can represent practically anything — such as reward points, collateralized fiat-pegged tokens and IOUs.

The BitShares platform is managed by a decentralized autonomous company (DAC), which allows BTS token holders to decide the future of the platform, and decide which features to add next. 

It runs on an open-source blockchain implementation known as Graphene, which is reportedly capable of processing up to 100,000 transactions per second (TPS) — making it faster than both MasterCard and VISA combined.

As of January 2021, BitShares is in the process of a relaunch, and will be going through several major changes throughout going forward. 


### Who Are the Founders of BitShares?

BitShares was co-founded in 2013 by some of the cryptocurrency industry's biggest names, these include:

 \
Daniel Larimer, an accomplished software engineer and the co-founder of several other prominent blockchain ventures including EOS.IO, Block.one and Steemit. Larimer is an esteemed name in the cryptocurrency space and is widely regarded as one of its leading innovators. 

[Charles Hoskinson](https://blog.coinmarketcap.com/2020/05/11/charles-hoskinson-on-the-power-of-crypto-working-from-home-and-mongolian-hunting-falcons-2/), an entrepreneur and mathematician who is one of the original eight co-founders of [Ethereum](https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/ethereum/) — the second most successful blockchain platform (behind [Bitcoin](https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/bitcoin/)). Today, Hoskinson works as the CEO of Input Output HK (IOHK), the research and development company behind [Cardano](https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/cardano/) (ADA). 

As of January 2021, the BitShares core team consists of 17 permanent workers, supported by more than 60 long-term contributors — covering a range of disciplines including economics and legal, to systems admins and highly skilled developers. 


#### What Makes BitShares Unique?

One of BitShares’ major distinguishing features is its integrated decentralized cryptocurrency exchange platform ([DEX](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/decentralized-exchange-dex)), which allows users to trade regular cryptocurrencies, as well as more traditional financial instruments (via BitAssets) without middlemen.  

Because of its native DEX and support for synthetic assets (BitAssets), BitShares is often touted as the world’s first [DeFi](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/article/what-is-decentralized-finance) capable [blockchain](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/blockchain). 

As we previously touched on, BitShares uses distributed autonomous companies (DACs) to produce a self-governing, self-financing system that allows BTS holders to set the business rules that govern the BitShares ecosystem through a secure proposal and voting procedure.

BitShares is also one of the few blockchain platforms to completely do away with addresses. Instead, it uses simple memos to distinguish users, making it one of the more accessible crypto platforms. It is also built around a popular referral program that is used to incentivize the growth of the network by distributing upgrade fees between referrers and the BitShares network. 

It was the first blockchain to use self-governed delegated proof-of-stake ([DPoS](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/delegated-proof-of-stake-dpos)) technology and has an ~3-second processing time for transactions, making it one of the fastest blockchains currently operating. 

In September 2020, the BitShares platform underwent a hard fork, leading to the creation of [New BitShares (NBS)](https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/new-bitshares/) — a derivative project that is not affiliated with the original BitShares. As a result of the fork, BTS holders were airdropped NBS tokens at a 1:1 ratio. 


#### Related Pages:

Check out [Synthetix (SNX)](https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/synthetix-network-token/) — a DeFi platform used for minting synthetic assets.

Check out [Litecoin (LTC)](https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/litecoin/) — one of the most popular high-speed cryptocurrencies.

Want to learn more about blockchains? Read “[What Is a Blockchain?](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/article/what-is-a-blockchain)” to get up to speed.

Stay on top of the crypto market with the [CoinMarketCap blog](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/categories/blog).


#### How Many BitShares (BTS) Coins Are There in Circulation?

As of January 2021, there were just under 3 billion BTS in circulation. This is equivalent to 83% of the maximum BTS supply — making it highly diluted. 

BitShares was initially funded by community investments totaling 5,904 BTC, as well as 415,000 Proton Shares (PTN) in 2014. At the time, this was worth around $3.6 million.

The full BTS [tokenomics](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/article/what-is-tokenomics) are not publicly available. 


### How Is the BitShares Network Secured?

BitShares uses a custom delegated proof-of-stake (DPoS) consensus mechanism to secure its network. This uses a combination of witnesses and decentralized voting processes to produce a more democratic [consensus](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/consensus) system that avoids the possible negative effects of centralization.

This system reduces the need for multiple transaction confirmations, ensuring BitShares transactions can be finalized extremely quickly. Instead, delegates (known as witnesses) are responsible for producing and broadcasting blocks, with numerous safeguards in place to ensure these witnesses act in the best interests of the network. 


### Where Can You Buy BitShares (BTS)?

BitShares tokens are currently available to purchase or trade on several of the most prominent cryptocurrency exchange platforms. Some of the most popular include [Binance](https://coinmarketcap.com/exchanges/binance/), [Huobi Global](https://coinmarketcap.com/exchanges/huobi-global/) and HitBTC. 

As of January 2021, the most liquid BTS trading pairs include BTS/USDT, BTS/BTC, and BTS/ETH. There are currently no liquid BTS to fiat trading pairs. 

If you are looking to purchase BTS using your credit or debit card, see our brief guide to buying cryptocurrencies with fiat — [here](https://coinmarketcap.com/how-to-buy-bitcoin/). 


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