Steem is an original token design that is not based on any predecessors. The Smart Media Token (SMT) protocol (developed by Steemit inc.) builds on the base Steem token and allows anyone to create an entirely new token, backed by Steem. SMTs allow any website to financially reward content and comments created by the site's users and allow the definition of unique rules for the new SMT token that are independent of those affecting the original Steem tokens. As of December 2017, CoinMarketCap.com listed Steem with a $475 million market capitalization, and ranked Steem tokens 32nd of 1,358 cryptocurrencies. User actions such as upvoting facilitate Steem's Proof-of-Brain algorithm, which also factors in the Steem Power a user holds, to provide incentives for content creators and the community by transferring small amounts of the Steem token currency.
