SMTs Replaced With SCOT And Going Live In May!!!!

I cannot say SMTs are going to be totally replaced since we have no word on what is taking place with them.

Since we cannot depend upon Steemit Inc to bring these things out, members of the community are taking it upon themselves to create the replacement.

That process is now being tested and the protocol should be live in May.

SCOT stands for Smart Contract Organizational Token. It is a Steem Engine project that is available to every community on Steem. Taking aspects of the SMT White Paper, the team is going to provide the features of that protocol on Steem Engine.

This is a layer 2 solution. While it is not hard coded into the blockchain, there are many benefits. To start, speed is key. Changes to the blockchain coding takes a lot of time and requires a fork. Making changes at the layer 2 level is a lot easier.

The other big advantage is that every new project can simply create its own token while remaining on Steem. Many projects forked the blockchain to establish their own Steemit-like ecosystem. With SCOT, it can be done without the fork.

Ultimately, the goal is to keep everyone together and part of the same ecosystem.

Without getting into too many technical details, every Steem Engine transaction is posted as JSON text on the blockchain. The Steem code basically ignores it yet it is all validated by the consensus. It is there but means nothing to the blockchain. While the blockchain ignores it, the transactions are there for everyone to read. Hence the same transparency and immutability is present.

At the same time, Steem-Engine does not pay attention to the Steem code expect for that which pertains to it. Thus, when it sees a transaction that needs to take place, it goes into action. This is how Steem Engine tokens are transferred from one wallet to another.

SCOT is going to provide every community with the ability to create their own STEEM. The properties of each token are going to mirror the main one on the Steem blockchain. The idea is to create "mini-Steems" all over the place. People can create an interface like Steemit.com and pull their community together on their website. The community can enjoy the same incentive features by using the token that goes with said website.

The benefit to all of this is the fact that posts are sent to the blockchain just like all other ones. This means that upvotes, which are a part of the blockchain code, earn both STEEM and the application token. Essentially, you have a Steem interface (website) interacting with the Steem blockchain while the token action takes place at layer 2 (except for STEEM and SBD).

Most of us realized that SMTs could be a game changer. Since there is so much uncertainty surrounding it, we are seeing an alternative show up. Having this technology is going to further reward the present users while, hopefully, attracting many more in the future. People are going to be able to earn multiple tokens, all with the same properties of STEEM, for doing the same work.

A full writeup about the introduction of this new protocol can be found here:

https://steempeak.com/steem-engine/@aggroed/scot-testing-underway-are-you-ready-for-your-own-token-that-can-distribute-like-steem

This is another example of how rapidly things are moving. Since the infamous Steemitblog announcement in November, we are seeing the community step up. We are no longer waiting around for a central organization to provide all the solutions promised.

SCOT is really going to propel the Steem ecosystem forward. It is imperative, once this goes live, to get the word out. Any community with a website will be interested in what is being created here. Ultimately, some of the mega corporations that we read about that are considering creating their own token could use this technology. If they are will to decentralize it, there is no need to construct their own token.

I am very excited about this news.

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