Whether you receive STEEM or SBD is determined by the SBD Print Rate.
At the moment, the SBD Print Rate is at 100%, which means that 100% of our liquid rewards will be in the form of SBDs. This is a complete reversal of the SBD Print Rate from two months ago until right before the Hardfork, which was at 0%, that's why our liquid rewards were all in STEEM and 0 SBDs over the last two months. Consequently, if the SBD Print Rate goes down to 50%, we will be receiving half our liquid rewards in STEEM and half in SBDs.
So, what determines the SBD Print Rate? This is determined by the level of the STEEM/SBD Debt Ratio. (FYI, this is a percentage, which is calculated by the total SBD in existence divided by the total Steem market cap.)
Up until a few days ago, before Hardfork 20, the rules were:
- If the STEEM/SBD Debt Ratio is below 2%, then all liquid rewards will be in SBD.
- If the STEEM/SBD Debt Ratio is between 2% and 5%, the liquid rewards will shift linearly from 100% SBD payouts to 0% SBD payouts.
- If the STEEM/SBD Debt Ratio is above 5%, then all liquid rewards will be in STEEM.
Over the last two months, the STEEM/SBD Debt Ratio has been above 5%. That's why we have been getting STEEM for all our liquid rewards and 0 SBDs. However, with the implementation of Hardfork 20 the rules surrounding the SBD Print Rate has been updated with the following:
- If the STEEM/SBD Debt Ratio is below 9%, then all liquid rewards will be in SBD.
- If the STEEM/SBD Debt Ratio is between 9% and 10%, the liquid rewards will shift linearly from 100% SBD payouts to 0% SBD payouts.
- If the STEEM/SBD Debt Ratio is above 10%, then all liquid rewards will be in STEEM.
This shift in the print rules resulted into the 100% SBD liquid rewards that we have been getting over the past few days. This is because even though the STEEM/SBD Debt Ratio is still higher than 5% limit pre-hardfork, it is now lower than the new 9% limit under Hardfork 20.
Why the change, though? Apparently, the change was done in order to limit the supply of SBD and therefore, prevent further downward pressures into it's price. This way, people will be more likely to hold STEEM, than SBD.
Hope this helps.
Sources:
- Steem Velocity Hardfork - Hardfork 20. https://steempeak.com/steem/@steemitblog/steem-velocity-hardfork-hardfork-20
- SBD Explained. https://steempeak.com/sbd/@timcliff/sbd-explained
(UPDATE: Made a correction, changing the word "STEEM" into "SBD" in the second sentence of the final paragraph.)