The cryptocurrency market exploded during the bull run of 2021. Various altcoins that were not previously known rose to popularity. Steem was one of the cryptocurrencies that showed phenomenal performance and came under the radar of many investors. Although the cryptocurrency could not reach the all-time high established during 2018, it still managed to garner quite a following.
In this guide, we will delve more into why Steem rose to popularity and the technology behind it that is propelling it upwards.
What is Steemit?
Steem is the native cryptocurrency of Steemit. Steemit is a blockchain-based social media platform founded by the CEO of BitShares, Dan Larimar, in 2014. Like any social media platform, users can create and publish their content on Steemit. However, what sets it apart from the crowd is its decentralization, which comes from blockchain technology. Moreover, it has an incentivizing mechanism. Content creators are incentivized to publish their content on Steemit through rewards in Steem token.
Centralized social platforms have had their fair share of criticism. Facebook and its platforms have fueled the debate of online privacy as various data invasions have taken place. Some of the other major issues with centralized social networks are censorship, downtime, and centralized authority. Steemit aims to solve all of these problems through the blockchain technology. The decentralization of the technology ensures utmost security as well as complete freedom for the users.
What is Steem token?
Steem is the native token of the Steemit platform. The platform also has two other tokens – Steem Dollars & Steem Power – however, the other tokens are dependent upon Steem for their work. The tokens are not mined but rather created by the network on a daily basis. 75% of the token are rewarded to content creators and authors, 15% go to Steem Power holders while the rest are rewarded to block rewarders.
As the Steem token has an inflationary supply and is used as a medium to run the platform, it is not designed for holding. The supply of the token has increased by 100% during the year and is planned to continue increasing so. The Steemit network has designed the Steem Power token for holding purposes.
The Steem Dollar is a stablecoin pegged in 1:1 to the dollar. The cryptocurrency had surged towards $13 during the 2017 bull run but has corrected ever since. The Steem Power is the only token of the network which is designed to be held for long-term investment purposes. The token is used for governance and gives voting rights to holders. It symbolizes the power an individual holds in the network.
