So my initially reaction to this news was to freak out a bit so I didn't make a post about it because if it ended up being nothing I didn't want to look like an idiot one day later. I listened to the AMA and am currently listening to PAL discussion of the AMA.
At this point I've calmed down a bit and I'm falling a bit more on the positive side of this. There were a lot of concerns based on the initial announcement and all of the major concerns that I had were addressed in this AMA to some extent or another. Here's a bulleted list to keep this simple.
- No token swap for now.
- Justin won't be using his newly acquired stake for voting for witnesses or content.
- Justin is not trying to kill Steem or stop it from existing.
- The Steemit Inc team will continue to develop Communities and SMT's
- The Steemit Inc team will remain independent
- He wants to help support Steemit and Steem Dapps
- There's talk of an accelerator program for Steem Dapps other than Steemit
- There's was talk of integrating Tron into Steem Dapps
Okay, for me that covered all the scary stuff, but let's be clear. These are all just words said in a quick livestream. I think it would be safe to assume any of this could change if it turned out that he thought that's what would be in his best interest.
The reason I'm bullish about all this is considering he just bought the majority stakeholder position in Steem, Steem's success is his success. It would be pretty stupid to invest millions into something just to stomp it into the ground. I'm not happy about these points because I'm naively trusting someone I don't know, it's because I can clearly see the logic of him wanting to nurture and add value to his investment.
What difference would it make if the value comes in via Tron or Steem, he's the majority stakeholder in both now. If it turns out that it's the case that the most valuable thing that could be done for Steem is to accelerate, support, and market the Dapps that are here, which is what I believe to be the case, I think that's exactly what he'll do.
And that my friends, is exciting.
Justin Sun has resources like nothing we've ever experienced on Steem. As @themarkymark pointed out a few times now, the percentage increase that TRON experienced because of the rumors leading up to this were larger than our entire market cap. If we just for a second don't assume the worst case scenario, and look at this from a more positive perspective, we potentially are about to get everything we've ever wanted.
A competent entrepreneur at the helm, someone that can get out there and be the face of Steem and sell it to the world, a ton of resources to support development of our already awesome applications, validity in the eyes of investors since someone with so much capital is as excited about us as he is, etc.
There is always the potential for a nightmare scenario and I'm on board with others in saying that we should take precautions to prepare for that and be ready for it, but let's be clear about something. This black swan has been here this entire time. There is no NEW risk that just presented itself. It's the same risk but with a new face. It was always a risk of WHAT IF Steemit Inc became a bad actor, we'd pretty much be screwed. We all got generally complacent about that risk, but it's always been there.
So in terms of Tron integration, future token swaps, a Steem token on Tron, etc. Here's a bit of speculation. I think that might have been an initial idea, but upon looking at a hugely negative reaction it was walked back. I don't think it was in stone, just an idea that sounded good at the time maybe. I don't think it's all that nightmarish to think about a Steemit on Tron that works as it's own content site that distributes a Tron token, or having a tron token that functions on our current interfaces like a SCOT token or SMT potentially would. I think this sort of integration was where I saw things going in the future anyway.
I think a low hanging fruit in this discussion might be allowing for Tron tips on Steem interfaces, like you connect your Tronlink wallet and can tip in Tron. That would be pretty awesome and a good way to quickly get Tron users to also be Steem users.
Another thing slightly related. I've heard a lot of Steemians talking as if Tron has no users. I've had a few brief affairs with Tron. It has a lot of users. I was on telegram in the stuff I was in, but yea, don't let the fact that you don't know about them make you arrogantly think they don't exist. Tron isn't where it is for no reason.
In conclusion, in the end I think we should lean all the way into this and embrace this as a blessing until it proves not to be. Keep posting, keep building, keep planning, keep growing, and take whatever help we get and use it. Maximize all opportunities. Hope for the best and prepare for the worst.