1. How much do you bet?
2. Mastercoin distributed exchange is for MSC<->BTC trading, this one is for trading securities. It isn't the same thing, is it?
3. The problem with Mastercoin is lack of finalized specification. Difference between multiple implementation can result in monetary loss. On the other hand, in case with colored coins, an implementation of color kernel can serve as a finalized specification: you can just keep using it, it will never change. We can implement other kernels, but they do not invalidate older kernels, different kernels can peacefully co-exist.
2. We're pushing forward our securities / Smart Property feature. We just hired Taariq Lewis to lead that effort, and are gearng up to accelerate both the bizdev and coding.
3. What do you mean "finalized spec"? We are evolving and adding new features all the time (
spec is on github) - how is that bad? We have a spec for Smart Property already in v1.1 of the spec, but are open to modifications / bug fixes if needed, and are coordinating the information flow between all the developers.