What are some things I look for when a technology stack is claimed to be able to power Web 3 applications, like Steemit?
A scalable, public, decentralized, immutable, censorship-resistant way to store text-based data that front-end UI's can easily display.
A stake-based voting system for decentralized governance that can reach consensus efficiently and adapt quickly.
A way to be sustainable via a self-funding mechanism.
A non-security. No legal red tape preventing the crypto from growing in terms of distributing the currency to non-accredited investors.
A liquid, decentralized cryptocurrency that is feeless, fast transfers with human-readable accounts that act as a universal login to endless social/gaming/business platforms.
I believe we are here in web 3; we have the tools, now is the part where we buidl cool applications.
The whole crypto market is still speculating that general-purpose blockchains are the be all end all and are resting on their laurels based on current market caps.
I believe general-purpose blockchains will serve rather specific purposes. For instance, BTC has carved out a store of value niche. Whether you agree in BTC as an SoV, it has gained mass liquidity, and once you achieve that level of flow, it is not easily taken away. People get used to trading BTC in large amounts, grow trust in it and will use it even if there are more efficient means of doing so, this is just human nature.
The same with Ethereum. Ethereum will most likely continue to be the most dominant platform to buidl and use Decentralized finance (DEFI). The liquidity is around 20 billion a day in 24h volume, not including OTC, which is always significantly more then what we see traded on exchanges. Almost 1 billion dollars in ETH are locked in defi platforms. This is not an easy beast to displace and once that can easily keep growing rapidly with the positive feedback loop of locking up eth.
So, these "general specific" blockchains won't act as world computers at all but will serve their niche purposes. We have seen chains like EOS get split into many different application-specific blockchains to fill the need of each project. General specific are the jacks of all trades, masters of none.
When it comes to Steem, it is light years ahead of any competition. It is built for a specific purpose, it has scaled over 4 years to refine its technology, and now we are on the cusp of realizing Steems true potential.
Steem has not only scaled at the blockchain level but from a fundamental tokenomic level with Smart Media Tokens scaling the reward pool.
If you really breakdown the internet, what is it?
We need a great value transfer that is highly liquid, ok BTC, ETH, & others can be that. The same for finance, a way to take out the middle person, that is great for ETH.
But what about websites? Where do we store the text-based data that will power the entire new internet? How will we curate the content in a decentralized way? This is where Steem truly shines and is vastly underappreciated & underestimated.
You see, as an investor, I break this all down, several times over to come up with logical solutions. All roads point to Steem at the end of the day. Someday soon, markets will try to buidl sites for web 3, and they will go from blockchain to blockchain in utter disappointment, until one day they find Steem. When that day comes, there will be a boom like you've never seen.
The majority of the population don't do the research needed; I've probably said that a thousand times. That is why you have speculator booms and busts. Dumb money chases smart money, then they chase dumber money until the wick runs out and they are left hodling bags. And the "smart" money is just trading charts, not the underlining tech. Very, very few people have the vision and the guts to break down a future path, and strike accordingly.
I didn’t find Steem because its charts and lines were pretty. I found Steem because I am a buidler, and this was/is the only game in town.
Ask yourself what the future internet hodls, then go down the list of what is available. Buidling decentralized public blockchains is not an easy task in 2020, red tape and regulations stop a lot of projects in their tracks, (libra), Raising billions currently for a "decentralized" protocol are all but gone, if they do happen, they won't be decentralized.
What we have here in Steem is a home run. I am enjoying the moments to come when the world realizes how badass and far along Steem really is.
And remember, we're all going to the same moon!
These views are my own thoughts. I put my money where my mouth is and strike when I see the opportunity. Never base your trades on what other people think, do the research and convince yourself, instead of others convincing you.
