It is coming up to a year since I started my foray into crypto investing, well, direct investing of any sort to be honest. I have done okay and despite the downturn, I would say that I am well and truly up over that time.
A large part of my investment has been into Steem itself which is done through Powering Up and I do as much as I can. I do this because I have a fair amount of faith that in the long-run, the Steem blockchain will prove itself in the market place with its versatility and performance. Even if EOS outperforms it, there is space for many blockchains in the marketplace.
But, one thing has always raised questions in me and that is the advice of 'investors' who despite how knowledgeable they claim to be, do not invest some part of their portfolio into Steem. There are likely several reasons for this but, I think the number one is BS. Yes, I think a lot of people talk crap about their knowledge, holdings and all kinds of 'information' they provide.
I know of one highly rewarded TA who has 25,000 odd minions surrounding him who are aggressive in his defense but, how much Steem do they hold? If he makes them so much money, why are their accounts worth the collective amounts of dust in the corners? wouldn't they power up some of their vast earnings to better support their messiah?
This goes for many people though as they talk big games yet, when push comes to shove they often have very little evidence that they have any idea at all as to what they are doing. It is all done on word and when people don't even use their real identities, how trusted can that word be?
Identity isn't all there is to it though. Often they are also the ones who are not powering up their earnings, or using bidbots and the like. I think that like @schattenjaeger wrote about today, Steem has an image problem.
Even people who are here find it hard to invest themselves into it and this is potentially because it is seen as an unlimited tap of Steem and SBD to extract to buy 'real' investment coins. I am unsure if they really understand then the potentials of the Steem Blockchain and instead think Steem is Steemit. It is not.
If Steemit goes down today and never comes back, Steem still has value as it is the fastest blockchain on the market and still has free transfers. What does Steem not have that these other 'real' coins do?
Well, faith. Unfortunately because people tend to tie Steemit and all its problems to Steem, people forget to look at the blockchain itself and when they look at the problems of Steemit, it likely affects market sentiment toward Steem as an investment coin.
Here is some information from blocktivity, a site that looks at the speed of the blockchains and their transactions. I do not recall ever seeing Steem not in the first position and first by a long way with the current closest rival being Eth. Steem has almost 3 times the average daily transactions and is at 0.15% load pressure. Eth? 100% capacity. Is Steem worth investing in?
And then, back to the big talkers. If the Steem blockchain and Steem which has one of the highest ratings out of all cryptos, why haven't they invested some percentage of their holdings? This is especially true considering that not only is there as brighter future for Steem as any quality coin, it can be used to earn along the way.
This time last year, Steem was valued at 0.074 cents US. Right now it is 2.52. That is an increase of around 3500% in a year. BTC was around $1200 US and is now at ~10,000. That is a very impressive 800%. Eth is was at $20 and now sits at 700 dollars, that is 3500% also. So Steem is on par with Ethereum's growth but, how far can it go, how far can each scale and, which is likely to double, triple or quadruple in price quickly?
Now, these numbers are largely arbitrary but if one is looking from an investment standpoint over the last year, Steem has been a good investment even though it is down ~80% from the all time high a few months ago. People seem to think it comes for free so why buy it. Well, it won't always be available, the pool will get smaller, the competition higher and the pressure to earn immense. Suddenly, the free coin that can earn on itself and be used in ,multiple dimensions easily becomes very difficult to get.
It is going to be a pity for all of those people who didn't hold some as no matter how good they think they are at trading, I predict that they are unlikely to outperform Steem in the long run.
Now, I am no expert analyst or trader, I am not even very good but, if sentiment drives the marketplace, as Steemit evolves in the public eye as a social platform, sentiment will follow. Fixing the current problems here might get messy but, they are necessary to fix.
Of course for now, I don't mind people selling their Steem cheap unless they are people I think have value in the future here. Selling it cheap means I can get a little more before the window closes.
How many of the uninvested investors will get caught out?
Taraz
[ a Steemit original ]
When would you consider someone to be an investor in Steem? 5000 SP and up?
I don't class it as an amount, it is the behaviour. powering up is investing.
Oooooooh, I'm an investor too! Hurray for me :)
That's nice
Many laymen use steem as a social platform, without knowing the availability of investment opportunities with a very high market value. even steem opens opportunities for Anyone who wants to join in it.
Fake it till you make it.
That's all I've got to say.
Wow! I had better buckle up and join the train. I regretted selling btc cheap thinking I've made profit. I'll look deeply into steem and it's potential, insightful write-up Sir.
I agree that it's hard to see Steem apart from it's Steemit. The coin in itself has a lot of value, but if the platfoem doesn't succeed there will be other coins to take it's place. I don't see other functions for Steem away from Steemit-related stuff at the moment... But of course that doesn't mean I think Steem has great potential. The TPS are incredible like you said, and it's indeed a great time to buy some cheap Steem along the way.
Free transfers in 3 seconds has value in itself.
True, but coins like Stellar for example will have the same benefits and will be more widely adopted, so that's also something to consider as I see it.
Again, it is a perception of it isn't it? How many coins have failed claiming this or that? Steem's advantage at the moment is that it has proven its capabilities and still has a lot of room to scale and encourages holding. Even if prices fluctuate, it is hard for all to panic as a significant amount is locked in SP. This also protects somewhat against weak hands.
Lots of exciting times ahead for crypto.
You're right, it's all about perception. But if the developpers want to broaden the uses of Steem as a currency, they have to change it's name so that it won't constantly get linked to the platform. A small change, but a necessary one if we want to "branch out"
Not necessarily. If anything we need to see more Steem-[x] names covering different applications of the technology.
Steemit is merely the predominant use case as of now - and since its being superceded by more forward-thinking and adaptable competitors is merely a matter of time - its imperative that Steem finds another workhorse to carry its value.
Great Strategy thank you it will help us to gain a good reputation
What a timely post for me. I have been using the bidbots for visibility, but honestly most of them operate at a profit only for the bot owner. It would still be worth it if people actually viewed the hot category but they don't. I have found just about all of my growth has come from commenting on others posts and then a bond forms.
I am so tired of seeing all of these whales warring with one another, the down voting and doom and gloom from whales (including it feels from you at times) about how the site is destroying itself. I have been here a month now and all of this turmoil has convinced me not to invest another dime of my own money here now. I had bought Steem yesterday and sold it for a 3.5% profit this morning before I could get around to transferring it. I was pretty much done with this platform after reading the negativity when I logged on this morning.
I don't think I will be transferring any more money here, but I appreciate your reminding me Steem has a value outside of this platform. I will continue powering up what little crumbs I may earn here while attempting to avoid the latest drama between the power players.
Keep up the great posts. Despite not agreeing the bidbots are profit for the customers (definitely for the owners), I appreciate your sincerity which is why I follow you. Resteemed to remind others that Steem is worth much more than just this platform.
Good post and I agree with most of it. Steem and Ethereum are vastly different though. I'm not sure if it's a like for like comparison.
just talking about the percentages.
You put a strong case for Steem. Didn't realise the numbers and actually you are correct in what you say 3500 percent in a year is impressive. There are not many investments that will give you that sort of return.
There is no crystal ball but I agree with you that you should accumulate it now before it is harder to get when more and more people join the site.
Thank you for your sound advice I will definitely be holding on to it.
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