Coin Market Cap is a bit tricky, so it's best to go directly to an exchange. As I wrote in my latest post, poloniex does appear to be processing STEEM/SBD again, and it does seem to be offering a better rate than the internal STEEM Market. But that's a completely different question. If you find an even better exchange rate elsewhere, by all means go for it! Just remember though, poloniex has had many issues lately, and there are still additional trade fees involved. But leaving all that out, here are the numbers I got.
$15 SBD / 1.4430 (internal market) = 10.395 STEEM
poloniex
pay to exchange SBD to BTC for around 2450 currently
from BTC, buy STEEM...
15 SBD = 0.0099885 BTC
STEEM = 0.00078621 BTC * 0.0099885 BTC = 12.721 STEEM (22.4% premium!)
(less exchange fees)
So basically it's implying that SBD is trading at an even greater premium at poloniex than it is on STEEM. Just make sure the people who've had their SBD and STEEM stuck over at poloniex have finally been made whole again first before considering it though!
I figure by the time exchange fees are added in it probably works out near the same. Plus its simpler using the internal market and I don't have an account with any exchanges anyway. I'm hoping by the time I'm ready to actually use my Steem, I can buy stuff with it just the way it is! 1 wallet and that's it! Simple; just the way most people would like it.
Have you figured out that I had 2 distinct and separate issues regarding my original question? The 2nd one has nothing to do with earning more or less money, nor if you take it as Steem or split it. It has only to do with SP and how easy it is or is not, to earn it.