Diary of a Crypto Time Traveler #12/ Navigating the Wallet (Steemit for Newbies 2)

peterogwara (30)in #steemit • 7 years ago

Feb 5th 2018 - Navigating the Wallet.

Flip over to the first entry to get a complete understanding of my situation.
Flip over to this page for Steemit for Newbies 1.
Links to others provided at the bottom.

Dear diary,

After hearing so much about Steemit from me pretty much from the first day we met (which is just a few weeks, I know) Lindsay has finally come on! It's cool... here's something we can do together, and a way I can pay her back for all the kindness she showed to me when I was still a stranded bum. However, being someone who's neither technologically nor crypto savvy, she has had a lot of questions about the wallet and how to use it. As I taught her, I realised that unlike the year 2089 where I come from, a big part of the populace in 2018 do not know much about wallets yet, and many are utterly bamboozled by the Steemit Wallet at first, so I decided to put down the things I've learnt about it, just in case it helps someone.

The Wallet: An overview

Basically, the wallet's function is to store, send and receive both Steem and SBD, and record all such transactions. Every other function is either a part or slight offshoot of these, so if you can understand that, you've already gotten it right. As a social media platform built on a blockchain, and one that gives rewards and payouts to boot, the Steemit wallet has a lot of options which can be confusing to the untrained and inexperienced. They are however very simple to understand, and each is explained below.

At first Glance

The wallet page seems at first glance to be divided into seven segments. In truth, this is only the 'balances' page. Other pages like 'Permissions' and 'Password' can be accessed from the first segment, directly below the user menu. As concerns the currencies though, this is the only page a user needs and therefore, the only page I will write about.
The second segment is labeled STEEM, the third STEEM POWER, and the fourth STEEM DOLLARS. These are used to keep track of the amount of currency a user owns. The Steem Power segment is a special compartment for Steem, and is what powers up steemit. The fifth segment, SAVINGS, is also a special compartment, but for both currencies. The sixth segment merely gives an estimation of how much in US Dollars all Steem and SBD in the wallet translates to using the current value of the currencies, while the seventh segment, whose length depends on how active a user has been in his wallet, is the HISTORY of all transactions.

The Special Compartments

The wallet therefore, basically has four virtual compartments: one for Steem, one for SBD, one for Steem Power, and one for Savings.
Steem and SBD compartments are normal compartments form which transactions take place. The Steem Power and Savings compartments, on the other, are special ones.

The Steem Power compartment holds Steem. However, this Steem is not readily available for transactions, but is what enables the user to perform actions on the Steem blockchain. For example, the higher the Steem power one possesses, the higher the bandwidth allocated, the number of tasks the can perform on the platform, and the value of his votes. To withdraw Steem from Steem power. one has to 'Power down'. Powering down usually takes up to 3 months, with a little percentage of the total paid into the Steem compartment every week. Most times, especially for new users, part of the Steem power in your wallet have been 'delegated' to you. This means the Steem used to power up is not yours and cannot be withdrawn to your wallet. Also a user can delegate his/her steem power to someone else. Delegated steem is shown in parentheses beneath the regular powered up steem amount, positive when given to you and negative when delegated out.

The Savings compartment is one with which users can either keep their currencies safe, or protect them from excess spending. It does this by requiring a mandatory 3-day waiting period for Steem and SBD transferred from their compartments into savings to be sent back. No transactions can be done from this compartment either.

Accessing the Options

Options for the currency segments can be accessed by clicking on the little down-arrow beside the amounts displayed. These are varied for each currency compartment.

A Breakdown of the Segments

The First Segment has four buttons, which all lead to different pages: balances, permissions, password, and 'Buy Steem or Steem Power'. The last button takes the user off steemit to the blocktrades site, an exchange which converts various cryptocurrencies to others, including Steem and SBD. This is where to go to convert your earned SBD or Steem into a currency such as bitcoin, litecoin, or ethereum.

The second segment is for the currency STEEM. This records how much steem a user possesses, and has options to transfer (which means to send Steem into another user's wallet), to transfer to savings, to power up (which means investing an amount of Steem as Steem Power, subject to all the rules of that compartment), to buy, to sell and market. Buying and selling are done from the blocktrades site, as explained above. The market is where one can convert between Steem and SBD by selling to or buying from other users.

The third segment is the STEEM POWER compartment explained above.

The fourth is for SBD, and has the same options as STEEM, except powering up. To power up from SBD, one has to first convert to Steem.

The fifth is the savings compartment, separated into Steem savings and Steem Dollars savings. The only options for both are to withdraw.

The sixth is the US Dollar estimate at-a-glance.

And the seventh is the transaction history, complete with the day sent and the memo, if any attached.

Here a very important warning must be sounded. Performing any transaction on your steemit wallet requires your password, or your active key. Therefore be very careful with these and ensure the site you are putting them on is actually Steemit and not a phishing site, or you could lose all your money.

Hope this helped!

I'm taking more and more responsiblity in the bookstore. Perhaps it is time I actually did introduce Old Sam to this platform, something he could spend all his old-man free time doing. I'm certain he would love it.

Diary of a Crypto Time Traveler is a fictional story used to share real knowledge on cryptocurrencies, blockchains and predictions, and my own recent findings.

Read previous entries below:
#11 Feb 2 - Market Decidedly Bearish! What Happens Next?
#10 Feb 1 - Eight Days Later, a new month, and a bearish market
#9 Jan 23rd - Transaction Fees
#8 Jan 20th & 21st - Two great days
#7 Jan 18th 2018 - Cryptocurrency Wallets, My First Payout... and a New Job!