Steem and Bitshares have such great potential.
I am so excited about what’s possible. It’s amazing that I can send money to people who live oceans apart from me.
However, I think there’s an element that I’ve been missing. Crypto isn’t just for sending tips to people in far away places. It can be used with the person next door. I’ve been helping people get started with crypto in person by selling them crypto for cash with no fee.
I just started because people asked me about crypto and I’ve been sharing my experience. The next step was to help them get a Bitshares wallet and send them a few Bitshares. Of course, once people see the potential, they want more than just a few coins. Offering to sell them more is a great way that I can help people get into this new economy.
Why This Makes a Difference
People are having a difficult time getting started with crypto, even if they are interested because it can be difficult to understand how to take dollars (or their local currency) and exchange it for crypto.
I believe we think about this in an overly complicated way because we are used to dealing with banks or other financial institutions for almost everything having to do with money. Even though crypto gives the promise of peer-to-peer money, we still automatically think about how to use a bank or a credit card to get crypto. This makes things difficult, time consuming and expensive (due to fees). The trouble people often experience with Coinbase is an example of this.
The promise and freedom of crypto is that it’s person to person, peer-to-peer. We don’t have to use those financial institutions anymore.
I can help someone set up a Bitshares account and transfer crypto to them within ten minutes! The actual transaction is usually less than three seconds. This reduces the friction and gives people a much better first experience with crypto.
Why Bitshares?
Bitcoin is the cypto-coin that’s in the news right now, but I don’t recommend it for people who are just getting into crypto now. It’s much easier to sign up for a Bitshares account. I prefer the wallet model for security, which has a downloadable digital backup key combined with a passphrase for security. It’s very secure, but it’s also easy to get started with Bitshares compared with Bitcoin.
Also, the fees are low compared to Bitcoin, which also makes for a better experience as a first time crypto buyer.
Once they get #Bitshares, they can buy other coins on the Bitshares DEX (Decentralised Exange). If you buy Bitcoin, it’s not easy for a beginner to convert that to other crypto currencies. It is easy if you start with Bitshares.
Bitshares has a lot in common with Steem, in fact they were created by the same person - @dan Larimer. So Steemit and Bitshares go well together. I can transfer my Steem Backed Dollars to my Bitshares account using OpenLedger for a very low fee or @blocktrades for a higher fee. Blocktrades is a little easier for a beginner, but both methods are not difficult.
You Can Help Friends and Family Get Into Crypto
If you’ve had success with Steemit or with trading, I encourage you to talk with friends and family. If they show interest, help them set up a Bitshares wallet and send them a few coins. If they’d like more, sell them more for cash. These actions, done by many people, will cause an economic revolution that will #BypassTheBanks
This helps people get into crypto… and it also helps you get some of your Steemit earnings out to cash. You don’t have to do any complicated transfers or connecting of bank accounts. You can just send people Bitshares (or Steem) and they can give you cash. This is how it is meant to be.