Things are really starting to heat up for Steem.
It appears there are 500 DApps in development. This is a great deal of activity, something that is certain to grow over time. We are quickly becoming a blockchain which is application-centric.
Will all of them thrive and excel? No. In fact, the majority might fail. However, there is a good possibility that there are a couple of applications in there that will really take off.
Where do I get this number from?
@dlux put out a post yesterday that discussed a number of interesting things.
To start, @dlux mentioned the fact that EOS initially was rumored to be a VR social netowrk. This, perhaps, was one of the causes in the run up in price which hit almost $20. Since that time, like a lot of other coins, it pulled back. Whether that was a reason for EOS run, that blockchain is seeing the same situation as Steem: slow user growth. It is an industry-wide challenge.
Whatever the effect on EOS, there is no doubt that VR is one of the upcoming technologies. Having that ability on Steem through the @dlux application is a real bonus.
However, in that article we find this tidbit.
This is Steem though, a wonderful ecosystem with a frequented social network as well as over 500 dApps in development.
https://busy.org/@dlux-io/56szwz5ouyqwjonyg4p44u08ow2qz42r
Personally, I do not know where these numbers came from or how the @dlux team uncovered them. Since they appear to have their finger on the pulse of things, I will have to go with what they say. Logic tells me they are not incorrect with all the different projects I saw mentioned over the last few months.
This is important because one of the advantages Ethereum has over the rest of the blockchain world is developers. They were able to attract ten of thousands of people to bang out code. This is resulting in a lot of applications being developed on that blockchain. The challenge it has, of course, is the scaling problem. This is something that Steem will not face for a long time, if ever.
Development is key and we are seeing the result of it. Thus far, there are a handful of applications that appeared. From these stats, it looks like we are going to see hundreds of more appearing.
Speaking of applications, there is one that seems to go under the radar yet can be huge.
One of the biggest drawbacks to STEEM is that there is no direct way to convert Fiat to STEEM. This ability would expand the reach of STEEM enormously.
Speaking of reach, the push to get STEEM listed on NETCOINS continues. It is coming down to the wire and STEEM has about a 1,000 vote cushion. I just placed my last vote if it does end today. Everyone needs to get their last vote in if they can.
In addition to this push, we now see the ability to trade STEEM and SBD on the Stellar Decentralized Exchange via tethered assets. Stellar is one of the top blockchains in terms of marketcap residing in the top 10. Their exchange is similar to centralized ones like CoinbasePro, an exchange that we hope picks up STEEM.
@steemanchor is created by two Steem witnesses, @upheaver and @therealwolf.
This application allows one to deposit STEEM or SBDs into the account. It will create the tether assets on the Stellar exchange which then can be used for trading. Since this new asset is Stellar based, it can be used with any application on the Stellar network.
It is a fairly straightforward system. STEEM goes into the @steemanchor account, mints the new tethered asset on the Stellar network, that token goes out to all the applications, and this is reversed including a burn of the tethered asset when moving back to STEEM (or SBD).
Since, according to their post, the Stellar DEX has the ability to handle Fiat currency, we now see the ability to deposit it to buy STEEM.
https://busy.org/@steemanchor/introducing-steem-anchor
There is another point to consider with the ability to access the Stellar Network. IBM's blockchain program does a lot with Stellar and has many projects starting to integrate with it. This potentially could allow Steemians direct access into some large applications built by major companies.
One final point regarding this application. According to their post, SMTs will also be eligible for this exchange. That means that we are going to see a way to instantly convert SMTs to outside currencies, including Fiat. This should help to create a market for them.
Head over to the announcement post and check out some of the links.
Another day, more exciting news.
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