Coyne for Like, or Why STEEM Currency Is Popular

The hot mid-July warmed up the blockchain community: the STEEM newcomer cryptocurrency , which has not been present for half a year, has become the third by capitalization and popularity among 657 digital currencies. We, developers of the hybrid banking blockchain service Wirex , did not remain indifferent to the Steem phenomenon , having studied the reasons for such a rapid growth in the popularity of this currency.

For a couple of weeks since the beginning of the month, the market value of the Steemit platform , issuing the STEEM, Steem Dollar currencies and the Steem token, grew by 2700% and reached a record $ 352 million on July 14 - which, by the way, caused the hacking of 260 Steemit accounts on the same night. Then the attackers managed to steal $ 85 thousand.

However, this did not affect the popularity of cryptocurrency. Steemit's capitalization has remained almost unchanged, and recently, on July 19, the trading pairs Steem / BTC, Steem / ETH and SBD / BTC were added to the popular Poloniex exchange.



The incredible growth of STEEM caused heated discussion in the press and on the forums. They especially looked closely at the trick in the Steemit platform itself: project developers used blockchain technology with fully open source code to create an “uncensored” social network, where everyone receives an equal reward in local currency - the one who creates the content, the one who promotes it, or , simply put, "likes." The public blockchain Steem stores the texts of publications, the voices of users and supports cryptocurrency to stimulate the actions of participants. At the same time, the project’s website offers to make money on everything from posts and votes to staying in a new social network, storing SBD platform wallets — Steem dollars, mining and exchange trading in wallets. Suspicious? Still would!



Opinions on the Internet are already divided: some say that the concept of social networks and content creation has gained a new meaning and freedom from the supervision of corporations and government agencies, others that Steemit is a temporary, meaningless, centrally controlled phenomenon, and their CEO Ned Scott has conceived something unkind. Or maybe it’s even a veiled scam.

Contrary to the conspiracy theorists, there is a logical and obvious explanation for STEEM's growth. Modern people absolutely free and voluntarily spend at least 2.5 hours on social networks - and most likely more. This is a modest figure. According to statistics, 9 out of 10 Russian Internet users actively post, upload selfies, leave likes and comments on countless social networks, take pictures of what they need, check in in unexpected and indecent places. What drives them? Psychologists mention, at least, ambition, loneliness, following fashion and thirst for communication. Here you are - have you really not posted anything today? And if you pay for it? Do you want money for likes? Wait, where are you - on Steamit you still have to communicate in English, wait for the influx of the Russian-speaking community.



User activity has long been the basis for the profits of major corporations. Google, Yandex and other digital giants initially live off other people's content. Ned Scott and colleagues realized that the blockchain community was formed and needed to be given the right place. Someone had to figure out how to monetize “likes” and create an attractive environment for miners and geeks based on the new rules: any work should be paid for - both the creation of values ​​and their support and development. And the content should belong to the creators, as well as financial authority.



This is also confirmed by active Steemit users: according to a survey on steemit.com, they really need freedom of speech, good profit from publications - this is especially wanted by professionals, journalists and copywriters; security from cyber thieves and Big Brother; the opportunity to reward the worthy and earn on this in a native and friendly community. And of course, besides financial hunger, they are driven by curiosity and a passion for innovation.

And since Steemit resembles the popular Reddit among geeks, it was easier to “sell”. The main thing remained: to confirm the trust of the community, and on July 4, the platform rewarded the early users through their own tokens, sharing equally $ 1.3 million. After the participants received bonuses and actively shared this news, a rapid influx of users began, the cost of the project and the popularity of the currency began to grow. The classic marketing technique for content aggregators and social networks. The only difference is that everyone hopes to make a profit.



Well, the creators of the blockchain social network masterfully played on human ambitions and did not lose. A large investor, not yet announced, but mentioned by Ned Scott, may win: he understands that STEEM and Steemit are a grand experiment that will change the landscape of digital activity and human interaction. Keep up with the Wirex blog and keep up to date with the latest cryptocurrency industry news.