Bitsquare, BitShares are good examples of a decentralized exchange.
> There's no benefit to trustlessness in settling a transaction when you're still reliant on a counterparty to actually make it for you
The whole point of a blockchain is that you don't rely on the counter-party to actually make the trade for you. The exchange happens at the exact same time on a blockchain.
> if one party's legal status means they must be given sufficient control to hard fork it anyway.
I don't think hard fork is the right concept here. Hard fork implies an entire network change; I think what you are talking about is the ability for a company to issue more shares, etc... They could be given this control through smart contracts.
Bitsquare, BitShares are good examples of a decentralized exchange.
> There's no benefit to trustlessness in settling a transaction when you're still reliant on a counterparty to actually make it for you
The whole point of a blockchain is that you don't rely on the counter-party to actually make the trade for you. The exchange happens at the exact same time on a blockchain.
> if one party's legal status means they must be given sufficient control to hard fork it anyway.
I don't think hard fork is the right concept here. Hard fork implies an entire network change; I think what you are talking about is the ability for a company to issue more shares, etc... They could be given this control through smart contracts.
https://aragon.one/