STEEM Steem

Use Cases of Steem

Steem is a versatile blockchain platform that supports a variety of applications and use cases. Here are some of the key areas where Steem is utilized:

Social Media and Content Creation

• Steemit: The first and most prominent application built on the Steem blockchain is Steemit, a social media platform where users can post content, vote on posts, and earn rewards in the form of STEEM, SP, and SBD.
• Decentralized Apps (DApps): Numerous other DApps have been developed on the Steem blockchain, including blogging platforms, video sharing, and community forums, all leveraging Steem’s reward and governance systems.

Community and Ecosystem

• Vibrant Community: Steem has a vibrant and active community of developers, content creators, and users. The platform has undergone various upgrades and hard forks, continuously evolving to enhance its features and scalability.
• Third-Party Tools and Services: The Steem ecosystem is supported by various third-party tools and services, further enriching the user experience and fostering innovation.

Technical Features

• Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS): Steem uses DPoS, where a limited number of elected witnesses validate transactions and create blocks, making it faster and more efficient than traditional Proof of Work (PoW) used by cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
• Free Transactions: Steem offers free transactions through a bandwidth allocation system, making the platform more accessible and encouraging user interactions.
• Smart Media Tokens (SMTs): SMTs are customizable tokens that can be created and managed on the Steem blockchain, enabling developers to build their own tokenized ecosystems within the Steem network.
• Scalability: The Steem blockchain is designed to handle large volumes of transactions efficiently, making it well-suited for applications that require high throughput.

Benefits for Users

• Content Creators: Steem provides a direct way for creators to monetize their content by earning rewards in the form of cryptocurrency, offering more transparent and immediate income compared to traditional ad revenue or subscription-based models.
• Developers: The platform supports the development of decentralized applications (dApps), allowing developers to build and deploy their projects on a robust and user-friendly blockchain.

Additional Use Cases

• Escrow for Real-World Transactions: Steem’s escrow feature can be used for secure transactions, ensuring that funds are released only when conditions are met.
• Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs): Steem can mimic the functionality of ERC-721 specifications, enabling the creation of NFTs on the Steem blockchain.
• Public and Transparent Ledger: Steem operates as a publicly accessible database, storing content in an immutable and transparent manner, making it suitable for applications that require high levels of transparency and integrity.

Entrepreneurial Opportunities

• Building DApps: Entrepreneurs can leverage Steem’s infrastructure to create new decentralized applications (DApps) that cater to specific niches or communities, tapping into a global audience of users.
• Low Barrier to Entry: Steem’s ease of use and accessibility make it attractive for both established blockchain development companies and startups, further accelerating innovation and creativity.

Pros of Steem

• User Friendliness: Steem is very easy to start and navigate through, making it accessible to a wide range of users.
• Passive Income: Users can earn passive income by becoming content creators and contributing valuable content to the platform.
• Fast Transactions: Steem offers extremely fast transactions due to its short block time of 3 seconds.
• No Transaction Fees: Users can send and receive Steem without paying any transaction fees.
• Decentralized Applications: Steem supports the creation of decentralized applications (DApps), which can be used for various purposes.

Cons of Steem

• Centralized Consensus: The network uses a delegated proof-of-stake (DPoS) consensus, which means that large holders can vote for the same people, potentially leading to centralization.
• Activation Period: There is a significant activation period for new accounts, which can take up to 2 weeks unless a premium is paid for instant activation.
• Control Over Coin Supply: The developers of Steem are suspected of controlling the majority of the coin supply, which can be a concern for decentralization.
• Voting Bots: The platform is overrun with voting bots, which can manipulate the reward system and take away from genuine content creators.
• Concentration of Voting Power: A significant portion of the voting power is held by a small number of accounts, which can lead to biased decision-making.

Founders of Steem

• Ned Scott: Co-founder and former CEO of Steemit, Inc. He was a financial analyst before collaborating with Dan Larimer.
• Daniel Larimer: Co-founder and former CTO of Steemit, Inc. He is also the founder of BitShares and later created EOS.

Background

Ned Scott and Daniel Larimer started working together in 2015, leading to the creation of Steem in January 2016. Their vision was to build a social media platform that rewards users for posting and voting on content, leveraging blockchain technology to foster a community-driven ecosystem.

Investors in Steem

Steem has a diverse range of investors, including:

• Early Adopters: The initial investors were primarily early adopters who participated in the test version of Steemit, a decentralized blogging platform built on the Steem blockchain. These early contributors were rewarded with STEEM tokens, which significantly increased in value shortly after the platform's launch.

• Community Members: Users who actively engage with the Steem platform by creating and curating content are also considered investors. They earn STEEM tokens based on their contributions, making them stakeholders in the network.

• Exchange Traders: Investors who buy STEEM tokens on cryptocurrency exchanges like Bittrex, Binance, and Poloniex are also part of the Steem investor base. These traders typically aim to profit from price fluctuations in the STEEM token.

• Long-term Holders: Some investors hold STEEM tokens as a long-term investment, anticipating that the value will increase over time. These investors often believe in the potential of the Steem blockchain and its applications to grow and expand.

• Developers and App Users: Developers who build applications on the Steem blockchain and users who engage with these apps also contribute to the investor base. They benefit from the rewards structure and the potential growth of the Steem ecosystem.

Halal Status of Steem

Steem is considered questionable in terms of Shariah compliance. This is because there are varying opinions among scholars and review boards regarding its adherence to Islamic finance principles. Unlike some other cryptocurrencies that have been explicitly deemed halal, Steem's status remains uncertain due to the lack of a clear consensus.

Key Points:

• Shariah Compliance: Steem does not have a clear Shariah compliance certification.
• Islamic Finance Principles: There are debates among scholars about whether Steem aligns with Islamic values.
• Review Boards: Some review boards have marked Steem as "questionable" rather than "halal" or "haram".