Hi everyone. This article will cover why STEEM is likely one of the best investments you can make right now. We'll cover this in a few different sections:
- 1. Steem's Future Potential
- Steemit.com is Already Growing
- Smart Media Tokens (SMTs)
- Decentralized Services (DTube, DSound) on Steem
- 2. Writing on Steemit is Investing in Steem
- Payout Options Overview (Steem Power, SBD)
- 3. Market Value of Steem
- Future Value
By the end of the article, not only will you be much more educated about Steem, but you will also likely realize why Steem is one of the best possible investments you can make. Let's get started!
Steem's Future Potential
First, let's talk about Steem and it's future potential as a cryptocurrency and as a platform. Steem, as you probably know, is the blockchain and heart of a publishing platform that rewards posting and curation. This means, every time you post an article or curate (upvote) other articles, you can make actual profits.
This is way different from everything we've seen before on different publishing and social media websites. Facebook, for example, places ads on their users' content, charges users to boost their posts, and in the end rakes all the rewards for all posts on their service. No matter how good a Facebook user's post is, they'll never be able to earn real rewards directly through their post.
On STEEM, things are different. If you scroll through the front page or the trending page, you'll easily see that STEEM looks like other social media pages, like Reddit, with a few key differences:
- each post has a unique dollar amount attached to it
- upvoting posts raise the dollar amount next to the post
- users can cash out those rewards for real money
How is Steem able to sustain this? The answer is through a cryptocurrency also named "STEEM." This cryptocurrency, along with the "Steem Dollar" (SBD), is what these payments/rewards are cashed out in.
I won't do too much technical analysis, but the Steem creators have figured out an intelligent way to use these two cryptocurrencies and the blockchain to fuel this whole platform. And it's working.
Steemit is Growing Already
The https://steemit.com website is the main "hub" or site users utilize to access the STEEM blockchain, to do everything from posting new articles, replying to existing posts, curating/upvoting posts they like, and managing their account.
Alexa is a top website ranking checker (a company owned by Amazon), and lets you check the ranking/growth of any website. Let's check the Alexa.com ranking for Steemit below.
As you can see from the results, Steemit.com is booming in terms of visitors and overall site growth. According to other Alexa estimates, Steemit gets over 6 million hits per day!
Business Insider recently posted an article on how Bitcoin price correlated with Bitcoin's ranking in search results, and how I see it, Steem price will correlate with how well Steemit.com is doing as a website. It's clear the website is already doing amazingly well, and given the current trends and user growth will probably only do better in the future.
Smart Media Tokens: Expanding Steem Even Farther
In the past few days, @ned and the @steemit team released the next stage of their STEEM master plan: Smart Media Tokens (SMTs). SMTs are tokens/cryptocurrencies very similar to STEEM that anyone can release, complete with an ICO (initial coin offering / crowdsale) and the ability to empower publishing sites just like Steemit.
For example, news websites like The New York Times can create a smart media token running on the STEEM blockchain, perhaps called NYTM. Every time a New York Times user "upvotes" or "likes" or otherwise curates an article, the author can be rewarded in NYTM.
I'm not going to go too much in detail about the revolutionary features of Smart Media Tokens— for that, see my article here on the subject. But, to summarize— these tokens will help expand STEEM to the rest of the Internet, and can spark a revolution in how publishing/social media works, and could be (as Steemit CEO @ned called it), the "future of the Internet."
Building Decentralized Services on Steem
Another exciting prospect for the Steem blockchain is the ability to build decentralized apps/services on top of it. Unlike Ethereum/EOS apps, these services aren't based on smart contracts but are based on Steem's unique ability to attribute real money rewards to content.
DTube is a decentralized video platform similar to YouTube built on top of Steem by @heimindanger. You can post videos to DTube which then get stored on IPFS, a decentralized online file storage system.
Just like Steemit, others can vote and curate on posts to increase their rewards. In fact, since DTube is built on top of Steem, each DTube video also gets its own post on Steemit as well!
As @taskmaster4450 explained in the comments, YouTube is the #2 ranked site in the world, so there's a lot of potential for video-based apps.
DSound is a decentralized audio/music/sound platform similar to Soundcloud, and just like DTube, it's built on Steem. Each sound/song gets its own Steem post, and others can curate/vote on the posts to increase rewards. Rather than paying music vendors before even listening to the song, on DSound you can listen to whatever songs you want to listen to and upvote the songs if you like them. This allows for a whole new way to distribute/"sell" music/songs.
These are just two of the most popular Steem apps/services, but there are many more already available, and many more to come!
Writing on Steemit is Investing in Steem!
Another compelling feature of the STEEM cryptocurrency is just how unique it is. Bitcoin, the current #1 cryptocurrency, is used for payments of all kinds. Ethereum, currently at #2, is used for smart contracts, which are programs and code that automatically interact with the blockchain. And other cryptocurrencies like Dash and Monero are also focused at payments, but have their own focuses like privacy, usability, or security.
Steem is used for posting, commenting and voting on the website you're seeing this post on right now.
This is not normal— article authors and posters don't usually get paid for what they do. What Steem is doing is pretty revolutionary in and of itself.
And so, what's the best way to invest in Steem? Whoever you are, wherever you are from, and however much money you have— that doesn't matter. Writing and curating on Steemit is a free way to "invest in Steem with your brain." If you write high-quality content or upvote others' content, you get rewarded by the network for doing so. It doesn't cost you anything but your time and effort. But it pays off really well.
Payout Options
When you write a post on Steemit, you have three options for payouts, as you can see at the right. The three options are to get your rewards in 100% Steem Power, 50% Steem Power & 50% Steem Dollars, or to decline your post rewards. But what do each of these options mean for you and for the community?
The first option is to get your payout in 100% Steem Power (SP). SP is the same as STEEM, except when you receive it, you're already "investing it" into the website. Holding SP means that your upvote is worth more to others, you'll get more in curation rewards, and you'll have more "power" in general on Steem.
)In every other way, however, SP is the same as Steem. In fact, if you so choose, you can "Power Down" your SP.
This means that in 13 weeks, every SP you have will be converted to Steem (1 SP = 1 Steem). Using the 100% SP option shows that you believe in the value of Steem, but may be somewhat risky due to the absence of liquid rewards (money you can use right away rather than waiting for weeks).
The second option (which is also the default option) is 50% SP, 50% SBD. This means that half of your post rewards will come in the form of Steem Power (discussed above), and the other half will come in Steem Dollars (SBD). Steem Dollars are generally always worth about $1.00, meaning they're very stable for conversions. They're also immediately usable after your post pays out, so you don't have to wait any longer before transferring/trading them.
The last option is to Decline Rewards. Though this means you're forfeiting all the rewards from your post, it also means that you're helping the Steemit community by valuing other posts. Forfeiting rewards helps raise the value of STEEM for others, even though you unfortunately won't be earning any of your own rewards. Most users only choose this option when doing non-profit or charity style posts.
Market Value of Steem
Lastly, let's cover STEEM's value intrinsically as a cryptocurrency. Steem, as of right now, is trading at almost $1.50. It's at a market cap of over $0.35 Billion dollars, and is the 20th largest cryptocurrency. As you can see below, Steem is doing pretty well as a cryptocurrency:
Though its market price may be volatile, given the amazing growth of Steemit.com and users' strong belief in the platform, it's safe to say that it's potential future value is much higher.
Future Values
Analysts and users have many bullish predictions regarding STEEM. Jerry Banfield @jerrybanfield, a top Steemit user and witness, believes that Steem will reach $10.00 USD very soon. (possibly in the next six months!)
Steem is still in its very early stages right now, and there's lots of work to be done. This is why I firmly believe this is the best time to invest in Steem. You can get in on something potentially huge, at a very low price. Steem, according to myself and many others, is one of the best investments ever, crypto or otherwise.
Thanks for reading,
— @mooncryption
image sources: 1 - own, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, DTube Website Screenshot
announcement: @mooncryption is now on other social media! Use the buttons at the right to find our various social media pages from Steemit to Facebook to Twitter! :)
I always want to write but steemit makes it worry-free to write and post.
Keep on steemit.
The best article on future of steemit. thank you @mooncryption
Sure, thanks for reading.
Great blog! You did a really nice job explaining the benefits and potential of Steem and Steemit by providing information in a way that the public, those who are just learning about the blockchain revolution, can easily understand. That's why I wanted to share this one on social media! :)
Thanks for your comment, and thanks for sharing my post on social media!
I agree steemit is right now one of the best crypto investments that you can do. Especially after the announcement of Ned about the Smart Media Tokens :-)
Totally agree! I think SMTs are sure to change the publishing/social media industries for the better, and will definitely have a positive impact on Steem :)
I agree and I invest in steem
Nice! I'm investing too.
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By doing the above you will give us more STEEM POWER (SP) to give YOU more earnings next time.
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I wanted to notify all followers that @mooncryption just released an all-new post! It's on the effects of fractional reserve banking, a controversial and possibly-fraudulent banking system that's widely used in countries like the U.S.
Jamie Dimon recently called Bitcoin a "fraud," but there are many absurd and controversial practices used by the banking industry, and by Dimon's own company! FRB (Fractional Reserve Banking) is one of them, and my post above explains what it is and how cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Steem can fix this problem.
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This post received a 1.6% upvote from @randowhale thanks to @mooncryption! To learn more, check out @randowhale 101 - Everything You Need to Know!
i agree with you steem is correc investment. Now we have to share this community and teach the friends about it.
Exactly. Let's spread the word!
This post recieved an upvote from minnowpond. If you would like to recieve upvotes from minnowpond on all your posts, simply FOLLOW @minnowpond
One of the best thing to ever happen in the 21st century
Definitely agree. Cryptocurrencies themselves are probably one of the greatest inventions, along with the blockchain.
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As a follower of @followforupvotes this post has been randomly selected and upvoted! Enjoy your upvote and have a great day!
Steemit is the begining , Im pretty sure the more savvy will realise this is just the start of a new way of doing business , things will change ,whether steemit will is doubtful , I have little faith in the way it is progressing , the future for ethereum and blockchain technology , IPFS decentralisation is very bright , IM WORKING AROUND THE CLOCK TO LEVERAGE NEW IDEAS AND APPROACHES , somwhere is the key to unlock the financial control of the hungry billions .
You're right. Steemit is, as you said, just the beginning, and there's more to come. STEEM isn't the only part of this "cryptocurrency revolution" and many more facets of life and business are going to change in the future for the better!
As far as steemit is concerned . like any company , organization or initiative it needs strong vision action , direction and needs to move with the times , very few major websites have done so and have died slow agonizing deaths , ala groupon , myspace yahoo hotmail the list is long .. either the parasites kill the host , they co-exist symbiotically or the host kills the parasites , in steemit's case the result for the future is already ABUNDANTLY CLEAR
In the context of the rest of your comment, this statement seems rather ambiguous: "the result for the future is already ABUNDANTLY CLEAR"
I see a lot of low value junk posts, but maybe I'm looking in the wrong places. So who is winning, the parasites or the host?
@eileenbeach has voted on behalf of @minnowpond. If you would like to recieve upvotes from minnowpond on all your posts, simply FOLLOW @minnowpond
Well said, resteemed!
Thank you!
I think it's obvious too..
But sometimes I just think it's a horse race, and you bet on your favorite horse ;-)
Haha, that's true :)
Thank you for your work, following for more :)
You're welcome. Thanks for the follow :)
Steem is more than just an investment, it is a whole new world. A new planet where we live virtually. I love steem network not because it has a potential reward but I gain knowledge, friends and more. I am not just investing money here or time but I invest my whole life on steemit not because I need to do for a fraction of reward but because I love the system and I believe in it.
Well said. Investing your time, knowledge, effort, and money into Steem is the best thing you can do.
One of the most interesting parts of the Steem whitepaper is that they call this system "Proof-of-brain." In Bitcoin, you donate computing power or computational work to the blockchain for rewards (proof-of-work), and in some other cryptocurrencies you donate/stake actual coins for rewards (proof-of-stake).
But Steemit is different— here, you donate knowledge and high-quality content for rewards. That's why they call it Proof-of-Brain.
I admit it...I am addicted.
This post has received a 0.78 % upvote from @drotto thanks to: @banjo.
I am in complete agreement with you on this.
Steemit offers a unique opportunity since people can "invest" in Steem without buying in. Every other cryptocurrency that I know of requires one to buy in (unless you use a service to "earn" it). Brain power over money could be of interest to many people.
One point you missed, which I think has even greater potential is DTube. When you consider that Youtube is the #2 site in the world, that means there is a ton of potential in video. Dtube is built upon the Steem blockchain, offering another decentralized service.
There is a lot to be excited about. For those investing a little bit of money in, one could be looking at 100 times return in the next 5 years or so if Steemit (and the other associated sites) really takes off. Considering the traffic you mentioned is with less than 400K members, can you imagine what the traffic will be with 4M?
When you are looking at a risk reward scenario, this is a high upside with little downside.
@taskmaster4450 You're completely right! As an avid user of DTube, it's pretty weird I forgot to add it in!
I'm adding a section right now to the post titled "Building Decentralized Services on Steem." Take a look and see if you have any feedback.
Thanks for your comment :)
Great info. Upvoted:Resteemed:Following
Thanks! Nice to hear from a fellow crypto investor/hodler :)
@cryptohustlin has voted on behalf of @minnowpond. If you would like to recieve upvotes from minnowpond on all your posts, simply FOLLOW @minnowpond
I'm invested in STEEM and powered up for this reason! Great post
Nice! Powering up or investing STEEM is a great investment you won't regret :)
hey mate great post I am also of the belief its going to the moon and its my number 1 investment at the moment. I have bought plenty I am using it heaps and I am mining it so fair to say I'm all in! lol
I've invested a lot in Steem as well :)
I see that you're also a regular SteemDice player, which is another good way to get more Steem. Good work.
Totally agree that steem has big potential.
However I'd love to see more high quality content on steem. As of now it's hard to compare steem and, say, medium. I just tried to search "blockchain" using steemit search... I don't think I have any other choice but go to medium, search there and see nicely-looking list of good articles.
Another bothering thing is people doing whatever have to be done just to get upvotes and resteems. Of course there is a way to play the system by posting something, asking other to promote it and promoting their posts in return. Or I don't know what people do but I see quite a lot of posts that has little value to me (some contest or someone saying that steemit is cool) that nevertheless earn $200+.
In fact is seems that currently there is a little incentive for someone to write a good articles. Ones that require research and take at least few hours or days to write. Why bother? Post a photo to contest and earn twice that money!
And, frankly, I don't know how you guys are not embarrassed with these "resteem!", "upvote!" or "N followers!!!" images. I don't know, in my opinion it's so cheap and flashy... It's like a car sticker - you probably won't put it on a Ferrari.
But steam is at early stages. So I hope it'll overcome these obstacles - the ideas implemented here are great.
You're right. The search engine on Steem also needs a lot help due to its inaccuracy; I'd suggest using https://asksteem.com instead of it.
I think the reason lots of people ask for "follow for follows" or spam "upvote me" on users' posts is because they see the potential of Steem through posts with hundreds of dollars of rewards on the trending page, but don't know how to get there.
So they put out a post, and see it earn less than a few cents of rewards, and get quickly disappointed. I've even seen a few people at this stage stop posting on Steemit, discouraged by low rewards.
Some of those who stay realize that they need widespread support from other users in order to gain real rewards, and start posting in the way you described, for better or for worse.
In the end, it's those who stay invested in the platform, those who constantly write high-quality content, and those who interact well with other users who win the most. This is why I think Steemit's old slogan was so great— "Come for the rewards, Stay for the Community."
I agree with you steemit is in constant growth and little by little it is being strengthened in the market
Yes, everything's growing very quickly!
@mooncryption - a really good article, and it is refreshing to see elaborated content and not opportunistic click-bait which is what Steemit should always be about..! Upvoted and following, and if you take any kind of specific interest in ICO research, feel free to follow us back at @icoexaminer. Thanks!
Followed you as well :) In fact, I do regularly participate/invest in ICOs and I'm looking forward to nice ICO-related articles from you. Thanks for your comment!
Thank you for writing this article, and I agree with most of it. I am still new to Steem, but I have found out that it's the only place that could possibly pay me for just blogging, writing fiction, and answering other people's posts.
Time will tell if it will replace my normal job and allow me to retire and just write.
Believe me, I'm still trying to figure out how people on steemit make 500 a day, providing no content, having no followers, and having no posts.
I agree for this article that #steemit is the top 1 best investment. 👏🏻💯👍🏻
G'day! Well explained post.
I've just made a Facebook page to try and promote Steemit wherever I can.
The page is only new, so I'm focusing on sharing some of my posts and quality content from other Steemit users.
https://www.facebook.com/plumeysteemit/
I hope you don't mind me sharing this on there to help promote the cause and give people useful information?
Sure, you can always share my posts wherever you want (as long as you either link back to the post or provide proper attribution) :)
Thanks, All Good. It's a direct link back here to your article - I'm trying to get people over onto Steemit.
That's perfect. Thanks for helping make people more aware of Steem :)
It’s been a pleasure to be on Steemit from day one. This social platform has brought out the community spirit of old where everyone are friendly strangers again. Comments are genuine and the support is real. Let’s all continue to grow together. :)
Thanks for your comment; I fully agree. Steemit has introduced me to many nice people I would've never known without it :)
Nice post, thanks for sharing.
If anyone’s interested, I’ve also recently done a review of Steem, which you can find here: https://steemit.com/steemit/@josephharris/steem-review-revolutionising-social-media
Thanks.
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Totally agree!
Thanks!
If you want some extra advice, I highly recommend buying steem at the current "discount price."
I'm likely going to release a Market Update article soon as well. Cheers!
'discount price' ? I didn't get you.
Steem is trading at a low right now (lower price than usual), meaning you can get an amount of Steem for a lower price than usual, or a "discount" :)
Oh, I see. I thought you were making me an offer on a discounted price. Lol :)