it is hard to trust anybody anymore these days. i would never give anybody any loan without any collateral no matter how much good history they have got. especially on BTCjam, the trust service and any kind of verification that they have got, is not a 100% grantee that you dont lose money to a scammer.
with collateral at least you know that your money is safe.
I personally borrowed the money a couple of times at the other site. Small amounts. I did not know etih people but we talked a lot on the network and have a great rating. I was 100% sure that I give. I knew that they cherish his name and his nickname.
There are times when urgently needed money.
Yes, it is difficult to trust someone, but there are still honest people.
yeah, there is no doubt that there are still a lot of honest people everywhere. but the point is you can not tell, unless you personally know somebody.
just look at lending section of the forum. there are many newbie accounts that are asking for loans. who can tell if there is someone in the middle of them who is really honest and doesn't want to scam you.
besides i think if you want to lend/ load bitcoin you should make your contract in fiat not btc, since the price is so volatile and can rise and fall drastically that is a better choice.
Most of loan here are through BTC. The loanees can use BTC pay to the merchants directly! No need bother with the different exchange rate and fees!