Steem Token Explained. Should you invest in Steem in 2018?

Decoding the Blockchain powered Blogging platform.

“Introduction”
The cryptocurrencies are undoubtedly changing the face of financial industry though it’s amazing applications. Although Satoshi Nakamoto, wouldn’t have expected the growth of cryptocurrencies at this scale, during the invention of Bitcoin in the year 2009. In the Bitcoin Whitepaper, it was mentioned as a peer to peer electronic cash system which would completely eliminate the centralized authorities and physical currencies. Bitcoin was one of the most successful digital currency of its time as the other digital currencies were not secure and scalable enough to support the Global community. Achieving Consensus between communities of such higher scales were considered to be highly challenging without a Centralised authority, but Bitcoin proved then wrong. Let us read about Steem token and its uses.

“Steemit and the Steem tokens”
The Steem token in the cryptocurrency domain is the one which powers its content publishing platform, Steemit. Steemit is very similar to other blogging websites such as Medium, WordPress, or Reddit but the only prominent difference is that the website is powered by Blockchain Technology. The technology is so powerful that theoretically it is estimated that it is scalable enough to host the whole internet.

The Steem tokens are used to reward the users of the website which helps in its development. The Steem tokens are not mined as usual but are awarded to its curators, content creators, and Power Hodlers. Here creators are nothing but bloggers, photographers, artists, poets, etc who constantly contribute for the platforms improvement. The mechanism is precisely known as Proof of Brain Concept.

“Further insights”
The creators receive a reward in developing better content, which is observed by receiving upvotes, in the form of the Steem tokens which can then be traded with the traditional Fiat currencies on exchanges like OpenLedger, Changelly, and Bittrex.

The Steem tokens don’t have any fixed circulating supply and the inflation rate is fixed at 100% per year. The Steem tokens are a form of Smart Media Tokens or SMTs which can effectively be traded for other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, etc. The SMT tokens share much of the attribute of the ERC20 tokens.

“D.tube”
The Steemit community even has another service to offer to its customers. D.tube, which is considered to be very similar to YouTube, is Blockchain based and the users can realize the difference between the traditional video publishing websites and D.tube, as the amount of money earned is also displayed beside the post apart from likes shares and comments.

Loopholes in Steemit?

However, the Steemit community is accused of posting plagiarize contents on their publishing website. The irony seems to be reaching highest levels when the original content doesn’t receive much appreciation and income than the copied versions of it. It seems that the users are concentrating more towards earning money and not maintaining the overall sanity of the project.

Is it a suitable option for investment?
The token had lost its value and fell to almost $0.14 in the early months of 2017. However, the steem tokens are evaluated to be trading around $1.03 currently. However, in December 2017, the prices of the tokens reached $4 marks along with a sudden rise in its market capitalization. The investors have a firm belief in their skilled and open-minded developers and hence the community looks futuristic. They are most suitable for a long-term investment if their proposed roadmap is successfully implemented.

However, in this highly unpredictable Crypto space, the development of the Steemit community is absolutely uncertain. Since the content publishing project is decentralized and completely based on the market forces of demand and supply, any prediction by the cryptocurrency professionals can’t be 100% accurate. Therefore, it is up to the Investor’s responsibility to make sure to conduct an effective background check on the Steem tokens. The disclaimer section of The Steem token in the powers its content publishing platform, Steemit; a blogging website powered by Blockchain Technology.must be given the top priority while doing the research, as this is the place where most of the prominent points are jotted.

“Conclusion”
The world requires a single Global cryptocurrency which would completely eliminate all the intermediaries and also the transactions as well as Forex charges. With so many cryptocurrencies competing with each other, to become the Global Currency. Some of the prominent currencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin have higher odds of becoming accepted in a globalized manner. However, based on their functional structures, the cryptocurrencies can be used in different domains. But one thing is for sure that the cryptocurrencies, still have ample of time to prove themselves, as the cryptocurrency market itself is in its initial stages.