SVM - Steem Virtual Machine: My Experiment with Bringing EVM to Steem

A new experiment to bring Smart Contracts, DeFi, and Ethereum compatibility to Steem

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Hey everyone 👋

For the past few months, I’ve been brianstorming on an idea that started as a “what if?” moment — and is slowly turning into a working proof of concept I call SVM (Steem Virtual Machine).

This isn’t a launch announcement. It’s an early exploration — something I want to share openly with the Steem community to gather honest feedback, critique, and maybe a few crazy ideas of your own.

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The spark

Steem has always been unique with No transaction fees. A strong content-driven economy with community that actually uses the blockchain.

while we’ve been growing quietly, the rest of the crypto world has been experimenting wildly. Smart contracts, DeFi, NFTs, yield protocols, and meme-driven economies have transformed how people think about blockchains.

That got me thinking:
What if Steem could connect with that ecosystem — without losing what makes it special?

That’s how the idea of SVM was born.

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What exactly is SVM?

At its core, SVM is an EVM-compatible blockchain — meaning it behaves just like Ethereum under the hood, but integrating with Steem and native asset being STEEM.

If you’ve ever used MetaMask, deployed an Ethereum smart contract, or interacted with a dApp on Polygon, Avalanche, Tron or Binance Smart Chain — you already know how it would feel to use SVM.

The goal is simple:

Let Steem tap into the full Ethereum and Cosmos ecosystem — without leaving the Steem universe.

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Under the hood

SVM is built on the Cosmos SDK, which is a modular framework for creating blockchains that can talk to each other. Here’s what powers the system:

• Cosmos SDK v0.50 – The backbone that handles the modules, state, and logic
• Tendermint Core – Battle-tested consensus engine for fast and final block confirmation
• Evmos EVM module – Grants full Ethereum Virtual Machine compatibility
• Custom SvmNS (Name Service) – Lets you use your Steem username as your wallet address

That last one — SvmNS — is my personal favorite.
You prove ownership of your Steem account, validators verify it (with a 2/3 vote), and you’re mapped on-chain. your @username becomes your on-chain identity. No more 0xdeadbeef1234... wallet addresses. Just you.

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Current status

A small testnet is live, powered by validators @h4lab and @cur8 — two absolute legends who believed in this experiment enough to spin up nodes and troubleshoot along the way.

We’re testing block production, validator consensus, and identity binding between Steem and SVM. It’s messy, educational, and weirdly exciting.

Right now, the repository is private — not to hide anything, but simply because it’s rough and experimental.
If this project shows potential and the community wants it, the plan is to open-source everything once it’s stable enough for others to run.

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The bridge challenge , A major road-block

Here’s the tricky part — connecting Steem ↔ SVM assets securely.

The concept is straightforward:

1. You send STEEM to an account like svm.bank on the Steem blockchain.
   The memo includes your SVM address.
2. Validators detect the transaction, verify it, and mint the equivalent amount of wrapped STEEM on SVM.
3. When you want to withdraw, you burn the tokens on SVM, and your original STEEM gets released back to you.

In practice, though, Steem’s permission system doesn’t support trustless verification (like zero-knowledge proofs or light client validation).

So the plan for now:
A multisig-controlled bridge — managed by a set of trusted community signers. Think of it as a cooperative vault.

The big question is:
How do we design this governance model?

• How many signers should there be — 5 of 7? 10 of 15? 17 of 20? 25 of 30? or more ?
• Should they be elected by the community?
• Could we integrate on-chain proposals for transparency?

That’s the kind of input I’m looking for.

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🌐 Why this matters

If SVM works — even at a small scale — it could unlock an entirely new world for Steem: Every transaction burns steem as fees .

1. Real DeFi on Steem

Lending, staking, yield farming, decentralized exchanges — all possible through smart contracts.

2. ERC-20 and custom tokens

Communities, dApps, and creators could issue their own tokens directly tied to their Steem presence.

3. NFT ecosystems

Steem-based NFT art, game assets, and collectibles with real smart contract functionality.

4. Meme coin economies

Let’s be honest — meme coins, when done right, bring attention. Steem could have its own creative subculture.

5. Cross-chain interoperability (via IBC)

Cosmos’ Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) means SVM could connect Steem to the entire Cosmos ecosystem — opening the door to trading STEEM or SBD on major decentralized exchanges like Osmosis.

SVM is also ChainLink Compatible and meets all requirements ChainLink has for a Chain to integrate into its Oracle Ecosystem , thus allowing free flow of STEEM and SBD across Tron , Ethereum , Binance Smart Chain + all those chains where chainlink is already integrated

6. Developer empowerment

If you can code for Ethereum, you can build on SVM. No new language to learn. Just deploy.

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Reality check

This is still a proof of concept. It’s rough, experimental, and far from production-ready.

We need:

• More validators
• A secure and auditable bridge mechanism
• Governance and transparency models
• A clear decision-making process for upgrades and signers
• Open testing and developer collaboration

This could easily fail — or evolve into something unexpected. But even failure here means we’ll learn a tremendous amount about what’s technically and socially possible on Steem.

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How you can get involved

If this resonates with you — whether you’re a developer, validator, or just a curious Steemian — here’s how you can contribute:

1. Share honest feedback.
   Does the concept make sense? What do you think are its biggest risks or blind spots?

2. Offer technical insights.
   If you know Cosmos SDK, Tendermint, or bridge design — your expertise is gold.

3. Discuss governance.
   How should validators and bridge signers be chosen? Should we build a DAO-style voting system?

4. Brainstorm use cases.
   What’s a killer dApp or DeFi project that would make this worth using?

5. Join the testnet.
   Once it’s a bit more stable, I’ll open it up for public participation — so we can see SVM in action together.

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🔭 What’s next

In the short term:

• Stabilize the testnet
• Improve validator communication and bridge prototype
• Start building a minimal SVM explorer and faucet

If there’s community interest, the next phase will focus on public documentation, open-source release, and more validators.

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Final thoughts

This project isn’t about competing with Steem — it’s about expanding it.

Steem’s biggest strength has always been its community. If we can fuse that with the flexibility of EVM and the connectivity of Cosmos, we could create something genuinely new — a blockchain that’s social, scalable, and smart-contract-capable.

Maybe SVM is that bridge.
Maybe it’s just an experiment that inspires the next one.
Either way, it’s worth exploring.

Thanks for reading,

— A solo dev from Nepal 🇳🇵 who believes Steem can do more.

If you like what I’m working on and want to support , please consider voting for my witness:
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or directly through SteemLogin:
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