No. They are not backed my fiat currencies, though they do trade against them. Bitcoin is backed by "proof of work" - ie many large computer networks solving very complex calculations (hash). Steem is backed by human effort in content creation, curations, as well as other activities.....promotion, programing, etc. Ultimately, like any money (even fiat), it is backed by the community (or Market) who perceives it has value.
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So, then when you cash them out, what do you get? Gold, silver? Paper money?
Er, um, mmmmmmmmm. . . .
Why do you assume they are always cashed out? I've traded cryptos around with other people for quite a few things over the years where none of us had much interest in cashing them out. The main thing that needs to happen is to grow the network of people interested in doing that.
Cryptocurrencies are currencies themselves. You don't have to "cash out", you can just stay in the cryptoeconomy.
Every time I hear the words "grow" and "community" my ears perk up
Keep believing that. Would love to see you try to use them at your local grocery store.
Groceries for bitcoin:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/rakeshsharma/2014/02/11/use-your-smartphone-to-buy-groceries-in-bitcoins/#212fc49f1269
I get gift cards with cryptocurrency and shop at just about any store I want. In the future, as cryptocurrency is adopted more and more (and it will be) I will likely not need to get a gift card to shop, but can instead checkout with my cryptocurrency of choice. @kencode is helping that along with his app.