New protocol was released to the Steem blockchain introducing smart tokens.
PROBLEM
Publishers and creators struggle to make a profit from their digital content.
Reasons are as follow:
*It's hard for publishers to acquire a critical mass of paying subscribers.
*Ad-revenue is taking a hit with the rise of ad-blockers.
*Tips and donations are not viable due to the expense of processing micro-payments
*Huge social networks like Facebook take profits from publishers but don't share revenue
SOLUTION
*To enable publishers to create tokens that help monetize content and grow communities: Tokens enable publishers to create mutually beneficial community based economic incentives to drive platform growth.
*Smart tokens with near instant settlement and zero transaction fees opens up new non-advertising business models.
*Publishers can also use the tokens to fundraise via an ‘Initial Coin Offering’ (ICO).
More detailed info you can find here: https://smt.steem.io/
Whitepaper: https://smt.steem.io/smt-whitepaper.pdf