The assets traded on the bitshares exchange are derivatives backed by the value of the BTS token. This is how counterparty risk is eliminated. Bitsquare is like

The assets traded on the bitshares exchange are derivatives backed by the value of the BTS token. This is how counterparty risk is eliminated. Bitsquare is like openbazaar but only for cryptocurrency. Personally, I'm very skeptical the approach will work in practice.