RE: #trade-junkies // Why do we keep seeing articles like this that say Steemit may be a Ponzi?
I was listening to World Crypto Network show yesterday that is hosted by Thomas Hunt (Mad Bitcoins) and usually has a handful of guests. I generally like and respect these guys who have been around a long time (in crypto years) and have a pretty good track record. Overall they are saying 99% probability it is a Ponzi. They don't like the issuance of steem, the 2 year lockout, and the vagueness of the white paper.
I am willing to suspend disbelief at this point and see if this is truly sustainable, or is a novel mode of failure. I don't think it is an intentional scam because Steemit as a platform is working, is fun, has brought many new people in, and has taken real effort to create. I suppose you could say the same about some classic Ponzi schemes too.
While we're figuring this out don't bet the farm (i.e., careful with those powerups) but continue to use Steemit, have fun, and take some profits.
Yeah, I never bet the farm on any digital currency, including Bitcoin. Rule #1, diversify. I am still curious why they think that locking in for 2 years is indicative of a ponzi. It seems like a legit way to promote long term users, since influence is based on those long term users locking in.
It's def a weird platform, even by crypto standards, and I'm still reading as much as possible trying to figure out some of Steemit. The community has been great in explaining things to new users.
I never think badly of anyone blowing the whistle. Even I have called out some friends and people in the Bitcoin space on things that seem shady, such as onecoin, or cloud mining schemes.
I'm def interested in hearing some more hard facts that point towards a ponzi. I'll have to check out that WCN show to see what points they are making.