This really has been the 64 thousand dollar question going around the platform the last 72 hours, which direction is Steemit going?
I've really tried to educate myself as much as possible, reading the thoughts of more knowledgeable users concerning this, and one thing keeps coming up for me, I've always felt the real value of Steemit was in Steem as an day to day usable, global currency. It has a proven track record of over a year now and it works.
A business or social media website has a floor and a ceiling as far as it's value is concerned. It's easily measurable for the most part. A currency is a different story. A global digital currency can become worth trillions of dollars if it can solve all the basic problems, which Steem has the ability to do.
Steem can be transacted free of fees on the platform to anywhere in the world. Huge win here.
Steem transactions can be made in almost real time. Another very important feature that cannot be understated.
There is a set amount of Steem that can ever be in existence so it's value cannot simply be inflated away over time. This is very important as we can see what constant money printing does to the value of fiat currency.
SBDs give Steem a stable currency in this terribly volatile crypto world. It can be used for transactions, an investment vehicle or simply a store of value or hedge against the value of Steem. This is another very positive feature of Steem that I feel gets overlooked.
Steem has been being used for over a year now as a currency, and to put it simply, "it works." The proof is in the pudding, and it's got a year long case study and counting as a very real global, every day, transactable currency.
So, after much thought, I feel SMTs could boost the use of Steem as a currency greatly, which is a huge win for Steem. BTC I see as a store of value already. It does not have the utility to be used in everyday transactions, so I see it as "gold" per se. But gold needs it's trading partner. A crypto that can be used as a day to day transactable currency, and Steem could be it's dancing partner. The utility is there, and SMTs could be a vehicle to help get Steem there. If it does, a user now on the Steem block chain with as little as 100 Steem Power could become very wealthy in years to come. For as we know, a social media website or a business has a ceiling to how valuable it can become, but a digital, globally accepted currency, wow, the sky might not be high enough to measure it's value.
Eventually BTC will find it's dancing partner, and the currency that secures this seat will shoot to the moon and beyond. Why not Steem?