Is Steem a Ponzi scheme? I can save you some suspense. The short answer is, "no." The same answer applies to Bitcoin, Litecoin, Monero, and pretty much every other reputable cryptocurrency out there
I suppose I should expand on that, though. I can say this with reasonable confidence because I know a little bit about how blockchains work, and I know what a Ponzi scheme actually is. This particular confidence trick is named after Charles Ponzi, an Italian-American con artist who created (or at least made famous) an investment scam that may or may not have begun as a legitimate business venture, but definitely ended with massive fraud. Somewhat like a pyramid scheme, revenue from each round of "investors" is used to pay off the prior "investors." A really successful scam appears to be a legitimate venture, and the first small groups of "investors" actually do profit as word gets around about this "sure thing" deal until there is a large pool of suckers and the con artist can make off with a load of cash by bailing at the opportune moment.
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Crypto simply doesn't work like that. At least, most don't. I wouldn't be surprised if people can cite all kinds of shady blockchain shenanigans and scamcoins, but Steem simply doesn't fit the mold. You needn't invest a penny to start. I wrote and voted my way to dolphinhood without buying anything. Of course, it was as much a gamble as joining any other blog platform and altcoin network, but it's been going for over three years now. Prices rise and fall. Witnesses can adjust the algorithms behind the scenes. But there is no sign of a real scam here.
So, as your self-appointed Steem Pope, I advise skepticism whenever someone declares Steemit to be any sort of a scam. How does it fit the mold of a scam? Ask for an explanation. Odds are, it's someone who is really complaining about a poorly-timed crypto purchase, or who has been reprimanded by members of the community for abusive behavior. If there really is something fishy, it should be easily explained. And those who make false accusations earn a Steem Pope Excommunication.
I think I can guess where the topic of this originated from!
Ha!
I admire this sort of tenacity @jacobtothe ...
... as this distinguishes you from most I have encountered "in here." 👍
Or as @trumpman would say, he shitposted his way to glory.
Hmmm. Okay @enforcer48. I wouldn't know about that, as this is the first post of his I have read. I do appreciate those who say (without checking for honesty ...) they have managed this, which in my mind, distinguishes them from the "ninja miner" crowd ...
The joke is over your head.
Enlighten me.
Might take too long to explain it here. I’ll tell you stories on Discord one of those times.
I also got to dolphin with hardly any bought Steem. I also spent quite a bit. So I don't see how this is any kind of scam. We don't need people buying in to get paid, but it can help the Steem price (sometimes).
I have bought some Steem recently as it's cheap, but not a massive amount. I want more influence on where the rewards go and I'll keep downvoting those who try to game it purely for their own benefit.
Steem on!
It’s not a Ponzi but it was operated as one since the only thing STINC knew how to do for a long time was sell premined tokens and hope people buy them.
That still doesn't fit the mold of a Ponzi scheme. Flooding the market is a different tactic altogether.
That's the whole point though.
New money coming in to pick up the tokens and oldies dump them asap and leave with better money like BTC. Then, they cash out to fiat.
What value is the STEEM token should STINC stopped developing like they had for a while.
Any scheme where the newbies want the interest (aka inflation, reward pool, etc.) and the oldies want new capital (via selling tokens in exchange for actual money) is pretty much a Ponzi.
As my grandmother would put it: 你要人家的利. 他們要你的本. It's a tale as old as time.
So you admit that steem is a shit coin that people were tricked into buying.
I never said anything of the sort. Stop being disingenuous.
thanks for the reply
Proof of brain and the inflation -based rewards structure is close enough to make no practical difference.
Steem generally is not though since owning the token gives you Resource Credits to use the infrastructure, and a vote in how the chain develops.
Steem is a classic example of a Ponzi scheme.
I pay in to fund you that's what a Ponzi scheme is.
No, that's not how STEEM works at all. There is a daily auto-generated reward pool in the blockchain code, and we vote up or down on various posts to distribute those rewards. You pay in nothing, unless you choose to buy STEEM, in which case it's a speculative purchase no different from any stock, bond, commodity, or other cryptocurrency.
Right I bought steem and everybody on steem uses tipu then when I use it you flag my post down to nothing. Thats why its a Ponzi scheme.
No, that's still not a Ponzi scheme. That's people saying, "buying votes is not OK." Just because people were getting away with reward pool rape didn't make it OK. #newsteem has made it possible to disincentivise that on a grassroots level. That has no relationship whatsoever to a Ponzi scheme, and it's more like direct response to counter rent-seeking.
I can look at your history I'm the only one you and your friends have been down voting. Can you tell me why?
You had a string of weird self-vote-farming posts I downvoted, but you're far from the only one I have downvoted. Here's another string for a serial spammer. And if you look harder,you'll find a lot of other downvotes interspersed in my record and the records of others.