STEEM, Devcoin and DevSTEEM: What are they and how they connect with each other?

A decade ago cryptocoins revolutionized the world and its economy when Bitcoin was created. During that time, many cryptocoins came and went, but others promising ones, like STEEM and Devcoin were here to stay.

In this article we are going to explore what Devcoin is and its inner works; what STEEM is and what it does; and finally, what DevSTEEM is and why it is important.

What exactly is Devcoin?

Source: “Pink White Black Purple Blue Textile Web Scripts · Free Stock Photo”, n.d.

Devcoin is one of the oldest cryptocurrencies around. It was born in 2011 when there was little offer of cryptocurrencies, unlike now that we have almost a crypto for anything you can imagine. However, the seed was planted and it began to grow and diversify beyond Devcoin since there was a strong need to support developers, specially those who coded Free/Libre/Open Source Software (FLOSS) (Devcoin, n.d.-b).

How it all began

At the time, not only the hype about the new blockchain technology was beginning to spread around rapidly, but also the FLOSS movement had (and still has!) communities of developers, who work without a pay and even as side projects, sacrificing their own time for the sake of their favorite software or service. Hence, we had GNU/Linux Distributions (also called distros) full with nice programs that can run, on any computer, like word processors, image editing software and even music players, just to name a few.

Sometimes, when the communities are big, the developers organize themselves and look for funds anywhere and even sell services around that same software they are developing. Unfortunately, that is not always the case, and developers have to care about themselves and their families.

Here enters Devcoin. For that reason, the main drive for the Devcoin community was to provide a fair way to fund those projects and developers. That’s the single motto from Devcoin: “From the many, one; From one, the source” (Devcoin, n.d.-c).

Eventually, the project was in much need of people who could provide some other services to the developers, growing their own projects and giving new life to their communities, such as writers, artists and speakers. Then, Devcoin grew and began funding all those activities surrounding the developing process of FLOSS (Devcoin, n.d.-b, n.d.-d).

Great! But how exactly Devcoin works?

First of all, I must begin saying that the Devcoin blockchain uses SHA-256 algorithm as bitcoin does (fheenix, 2013). For that reason, Devcoins can be merge-mined with Bitcoin,that means Bitcoins and Devcoins can be mined at the same time using the same hardware (Devcoin, n.d.-a).

So, as bitcoin, Devcoins are mined by solving blocks, and each of those blocks contains 50 000 coins. A 10% of those coins (5000) is reserved for miners. Thus, each block rewards 45 000 (a whooping 90%!) to people in share lists that are mostly developers and creators (fheenix, 2013). Depending on how many people participate, each share will vary in price. That’s because each round contains typically 180 million Devcoins, and the number of shares is divided into these 180 million coins, giving us the current price per round of every share (fheenix, 2013).

Following the philosophy of rewarding people for their work, later in 2011, the first big project for Devcoin (aside its original purpose) was devtome.com.

Devtome was very ahead of its time, because it was conceived as a writing hub for people who wanted to express themselves and get paid for it. Additionally, to maintain the quality of its articles, Devtome possesses a curators’ body dedicated to read and rate the writers. In that sense, it’s very similar to the concept of steemit, but with an older technology as it uses a wiki format. So, when steemit was born, it was natural for the Devcoin project to give its next big jump.

Three main advantages of Devcoin

Source: “Grey Metal Case of Hundred Dollar Bills · Free Stock Photo,” n.d.

Many of you would think now, well all this community talk sounds very nice and positive but, how can Devcoin benefit me in comparison to other cryptos?

There are three main points: Security, Longevity and Low Transaction Fees.

• Devcoin is very secure. In fact, the security can be verified at https://chainz.cryptoid.info/ and “is more secure against a 51% attack” than Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin (Ctya, 2018, paras. 1–2).

• The Devcoin project is old (it didn’t sprout from nothing one day). It has already 7 years of on-going growing, adoption and stability (Ctya, 2018, para. 3). That is one of those strange traits that you will want in a cryptocurrency project.

• Fees are low and the confirmation time is fast! “Due to the consistent mining as a merge mined coin on the bitcoin mining network, the hashrate and confirmation times are pretty stable” (Ctya, 2018, para. 2).

And besides all that, Devcoin is present in three crypto exchanges, thus, you can buy and sell as much as you want! At this moment Devcoin is in:

• Altilly.com https://www.altilly.com/asset/DVC

• Freiexchange.com https://freiexchange.com/market/DVC/BTC

• The Bisq Network, a decentralized exchange https://bisq.network/faq/ (“FAQ ‹ Bisq - The decentralized Bitcoin exchange,” n.d., sec. Which altcoins are supported?)

So, you know what steemit.com is, but how about STEEM?

STEEM is defined in the STEEM White Paper as “...the fundamental unit of account on the Steem blockchain. All other tokens derive their value from the value of STEEM. STEEM is a liquid currency, and therefore can be bought or sold on exchanges, as well as transferred to other users as a form of payment” (Steem.io, 2018, p. 7). Additionally, in the Blue Paper it says that it “...enables people to earn the currency by using their brain (what can be called “Proof-of-Brain”). The two building blocks of this protocol, both blockchain and token, depend on each other for security, immutability and longevity, and are therefore integral to each others’ existence” (Steem.io, 2017, p. 1).

This “Proof-of-Brain” is nothing more than a clever way to say that you vote the content you like and prefer, based on your perceptions, believes and tastes. This, of course, creates healthy big communities around many different topics. This is crucial because, without people, there wouldn’t be any chance for this token to grow.

Therefore, people are rewarded then for their engagement with their own interests. The concept behind it is almost the same as Devtome’s but with a Web 2.0 design relying heavily in a Social Media approach, which it is Steemit.com. Your vote, in this case, is the way in which the system “mines” tokens, and your articles are used as a fuel to produce such mining.

To avoid people running away with all the money they have made to spend it in something (and somewhere) else, and to prevent also an unnecessary depreciation of the token, the system has a built-in safe mechanism that allows you to take your money slowly. This is deemed by the developers as a “Longterm-commitment” and this is important “...because it enables communities to make long-term plans. Long-term commitment of stakeholders also causes them to vote for long-term growth rather than short-term pumps.” (Steem.io, 2018, p. 7).

In this sense, the users “...are able to commit their STEEM to a thirteen-week vesting schedule, providing them with additional benefits within the platform. STEEM that has been committed to a thirteen-week vesting schedule is called Steem Power (SP)” (Steem.io, 2018, p. 7). To elaborate more on this, the STEEM White Paper states that:

“When users vote on content, their influence over the distribution of the rewards pool is directly proportional to the amount of SP that they have. Users with more SP have more influence on the distribution of rewards. This means that SP is an access token that grants its holders exclusive powers within the Steem platform”

The action to transfer those SP into STEEM is called “Power Up” and the opposite action that takes thirteen weeks is called “Power Down” (Steem.io, 2018, p. 8).

To attain stability and a reliable price, the blockchain has implemented Steem Dollars (SBD), which “...are created by a mechanism similar to convertible notes, which are often used to fund start-ups. In the start-up world, convertible notes are short-term debt instruments that can be converted to ownership at a rate determined in the future, typically during a future funding round” (Steem.io, 2018, p. 8).

What is DevSTEEM?

Source: “2 Hands Holding 1 Jigsaw Puzzle Piece Each · Free Stock Photo,” n.d.

DevSTEEM is an integration process where people can earn Devcoins and STEEM by publishing their articles (Devcoin Witness, 2018a). The proposal is to get rewarded every time an article is published on Steemit and get Devcoins for any given number of SBD.

At the moment, this is still waiting for implementation due to the project’s need to get fund properly. So, one way to support this funding is to buy Devcoins from @devcoin Witness using SBD and STEEM:

“How to buy your Devcoins from @devcoin

OK, you decided to invest on our project. Not a hard deal, you only need to do the following:

1. Read the conditions of the service (scroll down)
2. Get a Devcoin wallet and a deposit address (more info: http://devcoin.org/devcoin-wallet.html or any exchange supporting Devcoin/DVC)
3. Send at least 1 STEEM to @devcoin with your Devcoin address in the memo (nothing else)
4. Wait up to 48 hours before yelling for SCAM and the like! (we process orders manually for now)

Conditions of the service

Exchange rate: 1 STEEM = 100,000.00 Devcoin (flat rate).

Order processing time: 48 hours.

Minimum order amount: 1 STEEM.

We only accept STEEM: Don't send SBD or STEEM POWER, we only accept STEEM!

No refunds! Period.

Benefits: STEEM users buying from @devcoin during DevSTEEM's "Stage 1", get priority access to the "upcoming investment opportunity" or "upcoming asset release". Nothing more, nothing less.”

What lies ahead for DevSTEEM then?

Source: “Sun · Free Stock Photo,” n.d.

Our goals for the project are pretty simple: To make possible to run a STEEM node in order to automate integration; to build a wide and supportive community; to improve the @devcoin witness SP; to get into the top 20 witness list and finally, to reward those who constantly create and innovate in a creative and meaningful way (Devcoin Witness, 2018a, 2018b).

I know it looks pretty ambitious, but you know, if we hadn’t big goals, we wouldn’t get where we want to be! So, why won’t you come and support us? We always need people who like to think big!

By the way, if you want to read more about this subject, @novacadian wrote a great article about DevSTEEM in: “Be careful what you wish for.... (Round 84 - for internal use only)”

References

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Ctya. (2018, October 22). [DVC]DevCoin - Official Thread - Moderated. Bitcointalk.org. Reply. Retrieved October 24, 2018, from https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=233997.msg47158203#msg47158203
Devcoin. (n.d.-a). Devcoin - Devcoin Frequently Asked Questions - How are Devcoins created? Retrieved October 7, 2018, from https://devcoin.org/devcoin-faqs.html#howcreate
Devcoin. (n.d.-b). Devcoin - Devcoin Frequently Asked Questions - What is Devcoin? Retrieved October 7, 2018, from https://devcoin.org/devcoin-faqs.html#whatisdvc
Devcoin. (n.d.-c). Devcoin - Devcoin Frequently Asked Questions - What is Devcoin’s motto? Retrieved October 7, 2018, from https://devcoin.org/devcoin-faqs.html#mot
Devcoin. (n.d.-d). Devcoin - Devcoin Frequently Asked Questions - What is Devcoin’s purpose? Retrieved October 7, 2018, from https://devcoin.org/devcoin-faqs.html#whatisdvcpurpose
Devcoin Witness. (2018a, June 5). The present and future of Devcoin+STEEM integration. Retrieved November 12, 2018, from https://steemit.com/witness-category/@devcoin/the-present-and-future-of-devcoin-steem-integration
Devcoin Witness. (2018b, July 15). Getting ready for the new start of Devcoin+STEEM integration - DevSTEEM. Retrieved November 12, 2018, from https://steemit.com/witness-category/@devcoin/getting-ready-for-the-new-start-of-devcoin-steem-integration-devsteem
Devcoin Witness. (2018c, September 7). DevSTEEM is in the house! Stage 1: Grow STEEM Power (Round #1). Retrieved November 12, 2018, from https://steemit.com/witness-category/@devcoin/devsteem-is-the-house-stage-1-grow-steem-power
FAQ ‹ Bisq - The decentralized Bitcoin exchange. (n.d.). Retrieved November 12, 2018, from https://bisq.network/faq/
fheenix. (2013, June 27). devtome_stats - Devtome [Wiki]. Retrieved October 8, 2018, from https://www.devtome.com/doku.php?id=devtome_stats
GDJ. (2018, February 19). Free Image on Pixabay - Abstract, Decorative, Divider [Stock images]. Retrieved September 22, 2018, from (https://pixabay.com/en/abstract-decorative-divider-fancy-3166168/)
Grey Metal Case of Hundred Dollar Bills · Free Stock Photo. (n.d.). Retrieved November 15, 2018, from https://www.pexels.com/photo/grey-metal-case-of-hundred-dollar-bills-164652/
Pink White Black Purple Blue Textile Web Scripts · Free Stock Photo. (n.d.). [Photo]. Retrieved from https://www.pexels.com/photo/office-working-app-computer-97077/
Steem.io. (2017). Steem Blue Paper (Blue paper) (p. 7). Steem. Retrieved from https://steem.io/steem-bluepaper.pdf.
Steem.io. (2018). Steem: Steem An incentivized, blockchain-based, public content platform. (White paper) (p. 26). Steem. Retrieved from https://steem.io/steem-whitepaper.pdf.
Sun · Free Stock Photo. (n.d.). Retrieved November 15, 2018, from https://www.pexels.com/photo/abstract-beach-bright-clouds-301599/

This article is licensed by @cpol under CC-BY-SA 3.0 license. November 16th 2018 ✍