BitShares is one of the oldest cryptocurrencies around, launched in 2013, though it may not be as well known as some other long-serving cryptos. What is BitShares (BTS)? What is BitShares used for? Let’s take a look and see what we can find out, and we’ll examine BitShares price predictions, too.

BitShares explained

Originally known as ProtoShares, it was founded by the Virginia-based software engineers Daniel and Stan Larimer along with Ethereum co-founder Charles Hoskinson. 

BitShareswas designed to be a peer-to-peer digital exchange, intending to leverage the power of decentralised consensus and decision-making to offer, in effect, one of the world’s first a decentralised exchanges (DEXes).

The BitShares DEX aims to handle the Nasdaq’s trading volume while settling orders immediately upon submission. The network is based on a software platform called Graphene, which uses secure blockchains and claims to be able process orders faster than first-generation and second-generation Bitcoin systems.

Indeed BitShares claims to be designed  to conduct more transactions a second than Visa and MasterCard combined. The BitShares network can confirm transactions in one second using Delegated Proof of Stake (DPOS), which utilises the approval voting power of stakeholders to settle issues of agreement in a way that is fair and democratic, with the system’s elected delegates able to adjust the networks parameters. It also uses distributed autonomous corporations in order to make things cheaper. This allows businesses to carry out their work on the blockchain autonomously while following the rules of the system. 

As a long-lasting crypto institution, there have been plenty of changes in how BitShares works. One of the most notable was in May 2021, whenit announced it was making and selling its own NFTs. In December that year it revealed the Mekong upgrade. This let people apply for funding without collateral, allowing people to access funds from a series of pools and then pay it back when necessary. 

The BitShares system itself is powered by the BTS coin. This crypto can, like most other cryptocurrencies, be bought, sold, and traded on exchanges. People who hold BTS are also entitled to a share of the system’s profits while also being able to vote on a wide range of decisions involving BitShares itself. 

BitShares price history

Now, let’s take a look at the BTS price history. While past performance is no indicator of future results, knowing how the coin has behaved in the past can help us when it comes to either making or interpreting a BitShares price prediction.

When BTS first came out onto the open market in 2014, the coin was worth around a cent and it pretty much stayed there until the crypto bubble of late 2017 and early 2018. At this time, the cryptocurrency market sped up, and BitShares was one the many coins which hit record prices. On 4 January, it reached $0.9168, which still serves as its all-time high.

After the boom came the bust, with the coin collapsing to around $0.04 by the end of the year. It stayed at somewhere in the single cent region for the next two years or so. However, early 2021 was a real boom time for cryptocurrency, and BTS was able to get caught up in the excitement, reaching a periodic high of $0.1739 on 17 April. The Great Crypto Day Crash of 19 May 2021 saw BTS suffer along with most of the crypto market. The coin entered the doldrums, reaching a periodic low of $0.03333, on 20 July. After that, though, the cryptocurrency market went through something of a recovery as interest in crypto was boosted by growing interest in non-fungible tokens (NFTs). BTS went on a run, culminating in a high of $0.06843 on 6 September. 

A downturn followed, and it closed the month at $0.03792, not far off its summer low. November saw a mini boom for crypto caused, at least in part, by Bitcoin hitting new highs. The periodic high for BTS came in on 15 November, when it reached $0.06215. After that, though, the market contracted, with concerns about the omicron variant of Covid-19 came into play, and it closed the year down at $0.03361. 

This has been a poor year for crypto as a whole so far, and BitShares has performed badly along with the market. While the coin initially rose to $0.04009 on 5 January, it then entered a slump, collapsing to close January at $0.02398. February saw some signs of recovery, but things were made worse when Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February, at which point BTS fell to $0.0172, before it recovered slightly to close February down more than 8% month on month at $0.02198. March was a bit better, with as the token closed up 26% at $0.02775. April, though, saw China institute a crypto ban on 11 April, and BTS slumped to $0.02072. The bad news was not over and, despite a rally to $0.02388 on 21 April, it closed the month down more than 30% to $0.1908. May saw little respite and, on 10 May, it was trading at about $0.0165. At that time there were about 2.99 billion BTS in circulation, representing the total supply of the coin. It had a market cap of $49m, making it the 462nd largest crypto by that metric. 

BitShares price prediction

With that out of the way, let’s take a look at the BitShares price prediction. Remember, price forecasts, especially when it comes to something as potentially volatile as cryptocurrency, are very often wrong. In addition, longer-term price predictions are often made using an algorithm of some kind, which can change at a moment’s notice.

First, PricePrediction.net has a BTS coin price prediction which suggests that the crypto can reach $0.031 in 2022, $0.046 in 2023 and $0.067 in 2024. The site argues that BTS can reach $0.095 in 2025, and it predicts the coiunt will break the 10 cent mark in 2026 to stand at $0.14 before moving to $0.21 the following year and $0.31 the year after that. It thinks that BitShares should close the decade at $0.42 before making a BitShares price prediction for 2030 of $0.58. In 2031,it says,  the price of BTS should be $0.82.

Next, TradingBeasts argues that BTS should close this year at a little over $0.022, before finishing 2023 at around $0.027. It should hit $0.034 by the end of 2024 , TradingBeasts believesand the site makes a BitShares price prediction for 2025 which sees tge coin close the year at a fraction of a cent under $0.04. 

Meanwhile, WalletInvestor has a BTC crypto price prediction which suggests that BitShares should rise slightly by May 2023, hitting $0.0185, and it should have made slow but steady progress to stand at $0.0341 in the same month in 2027. 

Finally, CryptoPredictions.com makes a BitShares price prediction for 2022 which says it will close the year at a little over $0.019, before lifting to $0.023 at the end of 2023. When 2024 ends, the price should be about $0.0299, the site suggests, while it should get to around $0.35 a year after that. By the time 2026 finishes, BTC should be worth around $0.038, the site thinks.

Final thoughts

BitShares, as a system and as a crypto, has been around for a long time without ever really grabbing the attention of the wider crypto public. This may be due to it performing services that other protocols do in more eye-catching ways, but whether or not that is the case, it might just be that other places do it better. Eight years after it came onto the open market, it is hard to see what BTS can do to strengthen its position.

Second, there is the concern that it is one of many cryptos which have never topped an all time high reached in the crypto bubble of late 2017 and early 2018. Some coins have gone on to further strength since then, but BTS is not one of them.

Finally, it might be hard to see how BTS can outperform a slumping market at present. As always with cryptocurrency, we shall have to wait and see what might happen in the future. 

FAQs

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