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This is only because of the counterparty risk that ShapeShift is exposing themselves to.

Oorrrrr, they're being greedy. They need to compete. @changelly has them beat on conversion already by a pretty wide margin, then they come out of the gates with Prism with this fee structure? Rough.

Well (I know the new ownership and all - still skeptical) I am not a fan of @changelly's history but competition is good. The two are also different services - ShapeShift is an API.

Changelly is welcome to offer a service like Prism with competitive fees. Let's see them do it.

I would still argue Prism's fees are reasonable given the situation.

This kind of reads like you have some sort of vested interest? In terms of Shapeshift VS Changelly, it boils down to who does a better job and who gets that job done at the best rate. I've compared many times and have never seen ShapeShift offer me a better deal than Changelly. Changelly also will exchange any amount you throw at it, where ShapeShift will not. Out of curiosity, do you care to elaborate on this troublesome history you're alluding to?

Prism fees are very much "meh," and a bit beyond. I couldn't recommend it with a clear conscience. They're clearly trying to capitalize on the less tech savvy users and on ignorance in the space. It comes off as crooked and has a scammy feel to it in my opinion. I know that it isn't a scam, I'm just saying their business model aims to capitalize on a less-informed user base to a point that is a bit shameful.

I've got no vested interests (don't take my word for that though, this is decentralization we are talking about) I'm a college student who is passionate about decenteralized systems.
Yes and no it boils down to who does it better. I dislike changelly because of their history with the MinerGate team who are known scammers and not very well respected in this space. For this reason, I don't mind paying a bit more in fees to support a team I am more confident in.

I can see your point of the less-informed users and I'll probably take an unpopular opinion. I think it is fine. This is the big leagues, if you are not aware of the risks and clearly stated (and on the blockchain) terms and fees, that is on you. This entire space needs more investment maturity so IMO, let the lemmings take the fall now - more educated users in the future.

Well you say you know the owners, etc. So I'll assume that there's some underlying interest/friend bias there.

Yes and no it boils down to who has a better service?! Lol, you might want to give that sentence another read over, dude. It matters very much! You care to cite where @Changelly colludes with "scammers?" Because I've heard nothing of this and don't believe that Changelly is up to no good on any level at all. That's a pretty serious allegation to toss around about a reputable business. It sounds like you've got some serious wool over your eyes, no offense I promise.

I actually just spoke with Konstantine extensively quite a bit in person this past week at Consensus, hung out with him for several hours around the city. I picked his brain a lot and I like what I heard. He was open, honest, etc. He's a solid guy from what I perceive, and his service rules. It's hands down the best deal and best performance in its niche. You can't really argue with facts such as performance, speed, support, price, and much, much better liquidity :-/. The service is simply better, I've put them all to the test before and vetted them extensively. "Them," being Changelly, Shapeshift, and BlockTrades.

Wow, not even gonna rebuke that last paragraph, I believe that it speaks for itself . . . Not cool, imo.

Well I never said I was unbiased; my preference for ShapeShift is testament to that. I have followed the MinerGate team (with respect to the Monero project which I will disclose vested interest in) for a while and the entire timeline leaves bad tastes in my mouth. Their relationship with the bytecoin scam, the gambling sites and MinerGate pool in general gives me plenty of reason to not use their service. 0.1XMR withdrawal fee, c'mon.

Now none of this directly applies to Changelly, dispite their indicated relationship on their site. I even hear they are under new ownership now. Now I don't use changelly very often - so don't use me as a gauge of robustness. I agree that for some uses Changelly is providing the 'better' service.

You do need an account for Changelly last tried to use it - the entire reason I want to use a service like this is not to need an account.

I will say it again: yes, and no it boils down to better service. This is capitalism - you vote with your dollar. I might find myself being a heavy user of Changelly in the future, who knows.

Okay, regarding my closing remarks - I feel that last paragraph needs to be expanded into 10 to fully explain the nuances of how I feel on that topic. I certainly did not do a proper job detailing that above. I do have a pragmatic view of the space and when a service like Prism clearly details their fees and structure (of which I find to be justified, at least right now) I do not feel that people are being 'taken advantage of'. There is a certain level of maturity needed when getting into investment products like Prism, or crypto in general. While I certainly dislike deceptive products just as much as you, this is blockchain - no service or individual should be trusted wholly, users are going to need to learn to evaluate the options according.

Thank you for providing a quality dialogue!


I hope I did not violate rule 2 on your bot post today :P . Hoping to get a response from ya.
Cheers.

I guess they should have solved that part first before launching.

You can't lol. The risk is inherent to the investment structure.