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It's not free but steemit Inc pays for it

Ah! Well thanks Steemit for this account on the house.

You can create new accounts by paying the minimal fee x 30, or the minimal fee + delegating.

I see what the problem is then. Minimal fee x 30 could be prohibitive to some users.

Well we shouldn't be too prohibitive in order to attract users and increase adoption.

Yes - in some case we are little too prohibitive (net effect). Especially for users from developing countries.