If you been following my blog for some time, this news should not come as any surprise to you. I have speculated in the past that this kind of development was in the making. Now that the speculation has turn out to be accurate, and I have had enough time to digest what the community is saying, I also wanted to share some of my thoughts.
I strongly believe this kind of partnership is beneficial for both parties involved especially for Steemit INC as it has been a financial struggle. Much of the Steem token disappointing performance has been the result of Steemit INC constant selling to maintain operation. The bear market expose some obvious weaknesses as Steemit INC saw a 70% layoff and a string of disappointing miss deadlines/ milestones. In fact, while much of the cryptocurrency market saw recovery as early as late 2019, Steem continued its downward spiral and only of recent has the token made gains upward, one only hope its the beginning. While I understand the disappointment of many with regard to the tone of the announcement as they felt left out, things simple could not continue on its current path. Steem needed that financial shoulder/ partner to rely on, the team wasn't able to secure any financial backing and attractive alternatives were emerging, the time to make a move was an urgent one.
How I think this development should move forward
I believe a synergy of both blockchain is the best approach rather than a migration. I have used Tron blockchain in the past and it has its issues, and but offers one of the easiest toolkit to build smart contracts. The Steem blockchain on the other hand, has been battlefield tested for 4 years, capable of scaling and an emerging dapp ecosystem. Steem also has a global audience, something very few blockchain can claim, it has real users, not bots. Tron on the other hand has a large developers community geared primarily towards games and smart contracts. Given this, I believe IBC would fit blockchains. One may ask, what is IBC. IBC is basicalling Inter-Blockchain communication. IBC is what some would say is the future as it affords interopability. Thus dapps can build application across different blockchain allowing users to ensure the best of each blockchain. The concept of IBC has already been deployed and currently under developments, its probably a holy grail if someone can link the BTC codebase with just about any chain.
Why I see this as being useful
Steem blockchain has been application specific chain that has recently branch into the dapp network of other application. The Steemit user base is very much accustom with interacting with the chain and its important that this development does not create fork and thus another chain. Tron has the financial resources especially the marketing, like him or hate him, Justin Sun is one of the marketing king in this space and is building an incredible portfolio with the likes that include Poloniex, Tron foundation, DLive, etc. These are all entities that can have meaningful impact in the future. Steemit is an excellent addition to that growing portfolio. Bitcoin has taken the financial sector by storm, Bitcoin can be seen as application specific likewise Steemit despite its poor token performance has done excellent with regard to global adoption and audience. As we can see the likes of Facebook and Twitter can definitely do with some disrupting.
Tron is ambitious, it wants to compete and win. Recently EOS launch its flagship project VOICE, Tron jumps right ahead with Steemit. There is a huge opportunity in the social media space, it isn't just EOS that getting involve, we have Bitcoin Cash with Cash.read and Bitcoin SV with Twetch. The censorship and down right top down model of Facebook and Twitter where users create content but does not enjoy the reward of the content NEEDS to change and its time for some disruption.
How SBD fit into all of this
As most of you know, how can I write a piece and leave out our beloved SBD. First off, I want to propose moving SBD from a pegged currency to a floating currency with a floor of 1 USD and unlimited upside. How does this really benefit Steem and Tron. That's where I would suggest a second change be done, where we moved the debt burden on SBD from 10% to 3%. What you are essentially creating is a scare resource. How the Steem is set up, there is a mechanism of converting SBD into Steem and there is an internal market where you can exchange SBD for Steem base on the feed price. In an ecosystem with an abundance of risk takers and SBD history, reaching as high as 194 dollars or 0.02 BTC, it creates an attractive offer. How would take benefit Steem and Tron, first off, Tron needs to create an internal exchange where you can exchange SBD for Tron and Tron for SBD. When SBD spikes, you are giving users the opportunity to use their SBD to purchase more Steem or Tron, thereby lifting the floor of both Steem and Tron. SBD in itself creates an anchor and the 1 USD floor give traders/ speculators enough confidence to do what they do best. In other words you are creating a "option market" for both Steem and Tron. In an asset that can be earn on the platform, it users more option of buying more Steem or Tron.
This is how I see this partnership can go forward and become extremely profitable venture for all parties involve and more importantly gaining marketshare in the social media space.
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