True that the Top20 witnesses are reaping the biggest witness rewards, but they are also playing a special role and they are expected to support and promote the blockchain in the best possible way. If not, they will be voted out of Top20.
Today there is still a financial incentive to maintain a backup witness role, a witness outside of Top20. But what will happen if the costs will rise and rewards keep decreasing? Or even worse, what if it is not profitable to be in Top20, will that be the death of the blockchain? If the steem price would drop that low, the chain might be dead anyway, but the increased costs of running nodes and the lower steem price are things that bother me.
btw, I'm based in The Netherlands. Getting close to bedtime for me. :)
I wish you a nice Friday afternoon/evening.
Hey danielsaori. Thank you for the comprehensive response. I appreciate that! This ...
On the former, does what I am reading about MIRA help? Supposedly not just a modest, but dramatic reduction in the cost of running a node? On the latter, right there with you.
I elected to take advantage of the "silly" prices late last year to buy myself a dolphin-sized stake. But ... While I have the means to buy a much, much larger share than that, I won't as there are too many issues currently which give me pause. Pretty serious pause ...
That said, it has been fascinating to me to interact with others all over the world. Like with you! 😊 If you are in the Netherlands, perhaps you have worked with @exyle? And the @blockbrothers Witness?
Thanks again for your reply! 👍