It's a special project because it represents a token (BTS), a wallet and a Company.
BitShares is based on graphene tecnology and uses a DPoS consent algorithm (Delegated Proof-Of-Stake) as well as EOS and Steem.
BitShares management is controlled by a Decentralized Autonomous Company (DAC), a framework which changed how the industry looked at the possibilities of blockchain technology. DAC allows BitShares holders to contribute and ultimately decide on the future direction of BTS. BitShares itself is actually a DAC and they demonstrate the beauty of blockchain technology and decentralization in its purest form. The BitShares platform is programmed in such a way that there is a budget for the workers upgrading and developing the platform.
BitShares was created in 2014 by the American programmer and entrepreneur, Daniel Larimer, who was also responsible for the creation of the Steem blockchain and is currently working to EOS project.
BitShares offers financial services in competition with traditional banks by issuing collateralizing market chained and stable bitAssets, which are assets like bitUSD, bitGOLD, and bitCNY that track the value of their counterparts. This means that 1 bitUSD will be worth 1 USD. BitAssets minimize the risk of volatility in the cryptocurrency market by chaining the BitAssets (bitUSD, bitEuro) to common currencies like USD, Euro, etc