Steem: Getting Attention In Business Insider And A Crypto Fund
As most of us aware, a lot is happening with Steem. Unfortunately, it seems the rest of the world is unaware of what is taking place.
That is starting to change.
The SMT protocol is now complete and the testnet was turned on. This will allow developers and entrepreneurs to test the system out. The goal is to look for flaws in the code while also giving people an idea of how the protocol works and can be applied.
We saw the news was picked up by Business Insider. They carried the press release put out by Steemit Inc which summed up the situation. It was a rather good press release that could generate some excitement.
It started by comparing it to Ethereum and the ERC20 token.
SMTs are digital assets on the Steem blockchain that can be launched by anyone to help monetize online content and create incentives to encourage desired user behavior. Unlike Ethereum's ERC-20 tokens, STMs have built-in 'Proof-of-Brain' properties and a token distribution reward system designed specifically for digital content businesses.
It also mentioned communities and the impact on they will have.
With the release of SMTs and Steem Communities (think "decentralized subreddits"), 2019 is shaping up to be the year that the Steem blockchain matures from a decentralized content platform, into a full-fledged blockchain protocol capable of powering applications that are impossible to run on so-called "smart contract" platforms.
Finally, it closes by mentioning the full potential in terms of tokenizing the web.
"Steemit's goal is to onboard the masses to the Steem blockchain by tokenizing the web. After SMTs, every website and web application will be able to have their own powerful cryptocurrency customized to meet their own needs and maximize their own business and social objectives," said Elizabeth Powell, Managing Director at Steemit.
Here is the full article:
https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/steemit-s-smart-media-tokens-live-on-testnet-1028600848
Overall, this is something that really highlights what is taking place. It also frames the direction of Steem versus two well known entities, Reddit and Ethereum. If anything, that could stimulate some to look at this blockchain a bit deeper.
Also, keep in mind that this was a press release put out through a service. There are many entities that might pick up on it over the next week or so.
The second interesting tidbit was found in an article put out by @deathcross. STEEM is now part of a cryptoindex fund put out by Coinbase. This is a weighted index of the Top 100 crypto performers.
Steem being contained in there is a big step. Once again, this puts it on the radar. Granted, in the index itself, Steem only accounts for a .02% weighting. As a comparison, and to nobody's surprise, Bitcoin accounts for 78%.
This Index does not choose from the Top 100 in marketcap rankings. Instead, it uses an algorithm that went through 1,800 different tokens. STEEM placed 45.
To read the full write up about the index:
https://www.steemleo.com/neoxian/@deathcross/goodnewssteemismemberofacryptocurrencyindex-nkhy84k2x7
A final piece that I wanted to cover comes from an article I came across that discussed scaling. In it, the author makes the case that the smart contract blockchains are having issues with scaling. Basically, Ethereum and EOS are both seeing a growing demand for finite resources. Since both platforms seek to become large, decentralized infrastructures, scaling is vital.
Much is made about Ethereum's switch from POW to POS. EOS is already a DPOS system yet it is finding the same issues. Hence, the view is that both will have to look towards layer 2 solutions to scale.
https://news.bitcoin.com/smart-contract-blockchains-are-struggling-to-scale/
The reason why I mention this is that Steem is not a smart contract blockchain. One of the features of SMTs is that they will fit into a confined criteria of activity. The Proof-of-Brain concept applies to certain activities that are tied to the Steem blockchain. Anything outside of that box must utilize a layer 2 solution.
@harpagon already provided Steem with the smart contract capability. Yet, this is not on the base layer providing a greater opportunity to scale. The development team at Steemit Inc spent months putting together MIRA which moved Steem away from RAM as the primary means of storage. This could end up having major impact.
If the other known blockchains are having scaling issues, this might be an opportunity. As Steem starts to reach the masses, millions can be on-boarded without issue (presuming the RC Pool and some other projects solve the issue of sign up). Steem could be the one introducing a large quantity of people to cryptocurrency and the start of Web 3.0.
Sometimes it pays to go a bit deeper than just the headlines to see what is truly taking place.
Things are starting to come together. With all the convergence I see taking place, it is only a matter of time before we start ascending the slope of exponential growth.
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