Steem

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Steem
Steem logo.svg
Steem Logo
Ticker symbol STEEM, SBD
Development
White paper https://steem.io/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/steem-whitepaper.pdf
Initial release March 24, 2016; 8 years ago (2016-03-24)
Code repository https://github.com/steemit/steem
Source model Open Source
License MIT [1]
Website steem.io
Ledger
Timestamping scheme Delegated Proof-of-Stake
Block time 3 seconds
Block explorer steemd.com
Valuation
Exchange rate STEEM: 0.813 USD (Nov 2018) SBD: 0.988 USD (Nov 2018)

Steem is a blockchain and cryptocurrency network created by Ned Scott and Dan Larimer, in 2016, operating on a Delegated Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism. The Steem blockchain allows the creation of social media platforms on which creators of content are directly rewarded for their effort.[2][3] The first social media application launched on the Steem blockchain was Steemit, by the Steem creators Ned Scott and Dan Larimer, in 2016. The Steem blockchain hosts over 300 applications, with more than 1 million users.[4]

Platform

The Steem blockchain operates on a Delegated Proof-of-Stake consensus. Although similar, a standard Proof-of-Stake consensus requires ownership or stake in a cryptocurrency to facilitate block creation. The Delegated Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism that Steem uses works with "Block-creating accounts, called witnesses, [which] are collectively approved by Steem stakeholders. Instead of relying on proof of work to find blocks, the Steem network actively schedules these accounts to improve the time between blocks to 3 seconds."[5] There are 21 witnesses at any given time, who are selected by vote from the Steem community, generating 21 new blocks in a 63 second time period.[5] When a new block is generated, the witness who verified it gets 10% of the reward, while the other 90% goes to authors, curators, and investors.[5]

The Steem network has no network fees, instead opting to use a bandwidth limiting system, where users have a certain bandwidth with which to interact with the Steem network.[5] Users bandwidth will be consumed in small amounts by voting, commenting and posting on the Steem blockchain, and will recharge over a given period of time.[5] Users can also choose to invest in more "Steem Power" for their account to give them more bandwidth and more influence on the network.[5] Users can earn Steem associated tokens by either producing and uploading content, or through curating content by voting for posts and uploaded content created by other users.[6] As Sam Bourgi of HACKED wrote in an article on Steem in January, 2018, "Steem’s value proposition lies in the integration of cryptocurrency with social media, which incentivizes users to participate in the network. The platform itself runs faster than the major blockchain applications, including bitcoin and Ethereum, with the added benefit of no fees."[7]

Steem-Based Tokens

There are three tokens associated with the Steem blockchain, with each being earned by users for participating in the network. Each one has different attributes and different uses associated with them. The three tokens are:

  • Steem - Liquid token for short term traders[8]
  • Steem Power - Power Vesting token for investors, and for users to expand their bandwidth limit[8]
  • Steem Dollars/SBD - Stable coin closely pegged to USD[8]

Steem can be used to "Power Up" a users account to give them more Steem power, and thereby give them more bandwidth. Steem Dollars, also just called by its ticker symbol "SBD," are a stable coin, designed to be priced similar to the US Dollar, though the price has been known to fluctuate above and below this level, which can be spent to promote user's uploaded posts in other users trending and promoted feeds. When users make posts to the Steem blockchain, they have the option of either receiving 50% Steem Power and 50% SBD, or they can choose to receive 100% of their rewards in Steem Power. Users can choose to exchange their Steem Power investment for Steem in a process called "Powering Down." Over the course of 13 weeks, user's Steem Power is reduced in 1/13 increments and changed into Steem. Users can then choose to either hold onto these Steem tokens, send them to other users of the platform, exchange them for SBD, or sell them on cryptocurrency markets or exchanges. Both Steem and SBD can be bought, sold, and traded on multiple different exchanges including Binance, Blocktrades, Upbit, and Bittrex.[8]

Applications on the Steem Blockchain

Steem positions itself as a social media-based blockchain, and there are now multiple applications on the Steem network that fulfill the functions of much larger providers such as Medium, Reddit, Twitch, and YouTube. Steem has an API that allows direct interaction with the blockchain, allowing developers to integrate the Steem network directly into their applications and web pages.[9] These services are cataloged on Steem Projects, and include:

  • Blogging: Steemit, SteemPeak, Busy.org[10]
  • Video Sharing: BitChute, D.Tube[10]
  • Video Live Streaming: Vimm[10]
  • Image Sharing: IPFS.pictures, Memestagram[10]
  • E-Commerce: DGameMarket, Steemarket[10]
  • Gaming: SteemMonsters, Steemgar[10]

Confusion between Steem and Steemit

Although Steem and Steemit were created by the same developers and share similar names, they are two separate services. Steem is a blockchain and cryptocurrency network, while Steemit is a blogging platform built on top of the Steem blockchain network. This has caused confusion outside of the Steem network community, often leading to the Steem logo being identified as "Steemit," and vice-versa. While Steemit was the first platform to be built on the Steem blockchain, other services such as SteamPeak and Busy.org now offer similar features as well. In November, 2016, discussions began within the Steem network community, prompted by one of the Steem witnesses after seeing a Reddit post misidentifying the Steem logo, on how to create a visible differentiation between the blockchain network and the front-end application built on the network.[11]

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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