RE: Where does all the money come from on steemit? How long can it continue?
I have a crazy reply but hear me out: It's a matter of Import/Export.
We've been told that The Internet is part of existing countries and has governance over them as such, but I've always viewed The Internet as its own country with its own people and own rules. If you can accept The Internet as its own place, disconnected from the physical world, then money (revenue) flowing into the Internet are just IMPORTS.
The Internet, like any lush and bountiful land, has its own inherent value that has been hard to describe and appraise. We've been appraising the internet by the value of its imports and its communications industry.
Finally, The Internet found a way to print money for its own value: Bitcoin. When you buy Bitcoin, nothing comes out. You bought something that stays on the web. You want to keep it there. You understand the value belongs in that land. And it has relative value to fiats of other lands.
Steem came out of thin air and the value came from trading it for other things that came out of thin air from the Internet's computing powers. This is starting to seep out of pure crypto value as digital money is used to buy digital goods, which can be sold and that cash is EXPORTED. When you create something on the web now, whether its a video or a witty comment or a 3d modeled laser gun for your favorite game, that digital thing has value.
As we shift to the internet of value, don't be so concerned about the export value equivalent. Just accept this world's value. As Westerners, this idea is new. In Korea, digital goods have had value and have been traded/sold for many many years, so its no wonder the bulk of crypto trading comes from South Korea.
Long story short, congratulations for being awake before everyone in the West, be patient as others get it.
This is a very good analogy and I accept it and agree with it completely -- until you get to the EXPORT portion. In order to export, there has to be someone on the outside to import (or visa versa) and this exchange must continue at a rate that sustains all cost to operate the system and pay all that work for it (creators, curators, etc.) in a monetary system that keeps them satisfied and fed and engaged.
For example it is unlikely there would be as many new people coming into steemit if they could never sell any of the steem they receive for anything that converts to a fiat currency or tangible assets. It would not matter how much SBD they collected if they could not purchase anything either directly or indirectly (via fiat or not) outside of steemit (Internet exchange or brick and motor).
SP and SBD and Steem only have value when they can be traded for goods that people give value to.
I do agree with you that eventually most if not all monetary transfer will be via crypo or digital means of some sort.
Thanks again for the comment.