Investors who saw cryptocurrencies as a mere fad are becoming "true believers" once they learn how Steemit creates Steem as the currency with which to run the Steemit community.
Even people who know nothing about how towns often had to create their own "scrip" during the Great Depression to cope with the shortage of cash, and people who carry no suspicions about the stability of the global "too-big-to-bail" financial structure -- in other words the vast majority of ordinary investors -- are suddenly being converted into cryptocurrency believers because of Steemit.
Nick Rokke, Certified Financial Analyst for The Palm Beach Daily, says that up to now, when he heard people talk about blockchain, distributed ledger, etc., his eyes glazed over.
Imagine if you were in the 1970s and people started throwing around terms like “electronic mail” and “instant digital messaging.” Your eyes would probably glaze over, too. But if I could show you how “email” and “instant messaging” could make you a fortune, you’d start listening. That’s what happened with me.
A New Business Model
The blockchain will be the world’s next revolutionary technology, and more and more people like Nick Rokke are becoming convinced of that. It is creating completely new business models that will change the investing landscape.
Here’s an example…Today, tech behemoth Google is the second-largest U.S. company by market cap. Its main revenue source is advertising. If you post a video on Google’s YouTube service, Google will play commercials before your video. It’s a very lucrative deal for Google. Millions of people post videos for free… yet Google rakes in nearly all the ad revenue these videos generate. The people who upload videos receive little of that ad money.
But Steemit is changing that. It allows those who post videos to keep more of those advertising dollars.
Cutting Out the Middleman
What "mainstream" investors are coming to understand is this: The development team started a social media site like YouTube. The developers gave themselves an initial allotment of “digital” coins -- Steem. The coins are like equity in a startup firm. The company then also pays content producers with these coins.
In this business model, the coins start out being worth little. But their value will increase over time as the site gains traction, and as more visitors come. That will draw the attention of advertisers.
Then, to buy ad space, advertisers will need to buy Steem -- the coins with which the people making content get paid. So as more people come, and as advertisers spend more money, those coins go up in value. The coins act like shares of the company.
And the advertising revenue flows directly to the coin holders (the producers, developers, and investors). As the company starts making more money, it will issue new coins. These new coins will go to developers who host the videos and provide bandwidth to stream content.
The company won’t need a large infrastructure like current media companies. That’s because with the blockchain, you don’t need a lot of startup capital. There’s no human resources or accounting departments. All revenues flow to the bottom line and to coin holders (aka “stockholders”).
You’ll keep more of the profits instead of giving them to middlemen. This is the business model of the future.
To newbies, this might sound a bit complicated. All new technology is. But just like people learned how to use the internet, they will eventually learn how to use the blockchain. And so it is only logical that the next large social media platform should be built on blockchain technology.
But investors cannot invest in this new technology on the New York Stock Exchange, because this business model does not issue traditional shares. You’ll only be able to invest in a blockchain company via its coins.
The Choice Is Yours
In 1980, Steve Jobs knew computer technology would be revolutionary…People who invested in his idea were rewarded with life-changing gains. Today, the blockchain promises a revolutionary new business model like computers did four decades ago, and we Steemers are at the forefront!
Great article mate! Even those who are using bitcoin and crypto are now slowly realizing how revolutionary it is, because of decentralization
Traction is starting to happen, although it's still pretty slow. We now have to pay taxes on crypto, but I can't claim them as an asset when it comes to buying a house! So still a ways to go....it does feel nice being in the somewhat early stages though before everybody throws their money at it.
This is very interesting. upvoted & followed you!
Thanks.
Interesting article, thanks. I feel that while the earliest adopters have been 'in crypto' for a few years, it's still incredibly early days. It's really akin to the internet and look at where it has come over the past 10+ years. Really exciting times!
You are right. I wrote yesterday that we are just now at the same "moment in time" -- as far as mass adoption goes -- as the internet was when the first web browser was introduced.