The Blockchain is a new technology that no longer stores information in one central location, but simultane- ously and 1:1 on several locations. These locations are connected by the Internet and thus form a network that controls each other.
The block chain documents information and packages it into a block. There are different blockchains and each has its own rule and therefore its own crypto currency. The best known Blockchain and also cryptocurrency is Bitcoin.
You can imagine that the Blockchain is the device and the cryptocurrency is the operating system. You can have an iMac from Appel but install Windows on it or a Windows computer but run MacOS on it. The rules are always determined by the OS and so the rule determines the software of the crypto currency.
Bitcoin is an open source program, which means that anyone can download it. To understand Steemit and Appics you need the knowledge about the blockchain.
Bitcoin has the simplest rules because it only documents transactions. These transfers are combined into one block. The Bitcoin program specifies that this block can be about 1 megabyte in size. As soon as one block is full, you go to the next one and then to the next one and so on.
As just mentioned, Bitcoin is an open source program. So anyone can download it. Through this software and the internet your computer becomes part of a network. These computers document every transfer in the network. As soon as a new block is created, the computers have to encrypt this block and for this they need a code. This code is calculated and whoever calculates the code first will be rewarded with new Bitcoins that are created with it. Every 10 minutes a new block is created and with it new Bitcoins.
The program even tells you how much the reward is. To prevent the 21 million Bitcoins from being produced as quickly as possible, the reward is halved every 210,000 blocks (ca. 4 Years). Here is the reward per block from beginning until all Bitcoins produced (mined):
The revolutionary thing about this technology is not that the Blockchain is like a cash book, but that the cash book (Blockchain) exists at the same time on different nodes, i.e. computers. Currently there are over 100,000 nodes in the Bitcoin network. Each of these nodes knows exactly when and how many Bitcoins were sent. Through Bitcoin, we don't have to trust one person or organization, but simply the majority of nodes. Each transaction must be confirmed by the nodes and if it is correct, it is transferred to the block chain, which means that the transaction was successful.
To understand the nodes I have created a little picture for you. There are now only 9 nodes 😂 and no 100,000 😉
I hope you understood the Blockchain so far. To explain Steemit & Appics you should know that every blockchain has its own coin. But there are also tokens. Tokens have no own blockchain and use the blockchain of other coins. The blockchain has then a sidechain, which is like when the blockchain is a highway and the sidechain is a driveway.
Many users get confused here. So Steemit is the website and Steem is the coin. Appics uses the Blockchain of Steem. Everything we post on Appics will also be posted on Steemit because Appics is the sidechain. On Appics it is displayed as on Instagram, the same post is also posted on Steemit but displayed differently.
Only transactions are stored in the Bitcoin Blockchain, but the Steemit Blockchain stores posts, comments, votes, rewards & transactions. In the picture below you see the votes with the thumbs up icon and at the end with the percent. You can also see that a comment has been posted or a contribution.
Steemit or Appics are actually easy to understand. The problem is always the explanation. Steem or APX each have power, so that our votes have more value. I personally always talk about liquid and frozen. Liquid because you can do what you want with it. You can send or sell your Liquid Steem or Appics, but the frozen Steem or APX will give your votes more value, the more you freeze the more your votes are worth. Here is a picture of me to understand the system.
The circle with the drop should represent your Liquid Steem or APX. You can sell or send them is up to you, so there are different lines drawn there. They symbolize the entrances and exits of your wallet.
Then we have the line that leads to Power. This line has a lock, because once your Steem or APX are there they are locked up for 13 weeks. This means if you want to take your Steem or APX out of Power it would take 13 weeks for the amount you want to pay out to be back in the liquid circle.
The power circle is connected to the thumbs up circle. The thumbs up circle symbolises that if you have more power, your votes are worth more.
The Steem Blockchain dictates that you get your reward, 7 days after publishing. On Steemit the reward split is 50% author & 50% voter. On Appics the split is 65% author, 25% voter & 10% appics.
On top of this, the author reward is divided again into 50% liquid & 50% frozen. Example: Your reward for a post is $100, so you would get $50 in liquid and $50 in frozen (Power/Staked). As Appics is currently in beta, you will receive 100% of your reward in frozen (Power/Staked). Once the appics are officially launched it will be 50/50.
