Received a handsome payout? Looking to re-invest the SBD into Steem Power? The easiest way to do this, of course, is sell SBD to STEEM in the Internal Market, and then Power Up. Or use the "Convert to STEEM" option that takes a week. But this may not always be the best approach.
Currently, the value of STEEM is very volatile on the markets. When I started writing this post, it was as low as 0.00345, which would have made the Exchanges option a no brainer - a full 20% more than the internal market! Which is what kicked me to write this article. Since then, STEEM has gained sharply, which means the Internal Market may be the better option. Still, the principle apples - calculate for yourself which is better option at the time.
So, it's time to take advantage of it. Bear with me, this may seem convoluted, but if you have received a significant amount, this may be worth it.
The Internal Market Option
The Internal Market price for 1 STEEM is clearly stuck at $3. Due to the low spread, it's unlikely to drop any further.
Your Steem return is pretty simple - SBD earned / Price.
The Exchanges Option
You can use your Exchange of choice, but I'll use Poloniex for this post. The prices are similar elsewhere.
The first step is to transfer SBD from Steemit to Poloniex. Here's a great guide that will help you do just that.
Then, buy BTC on the BTC-SBD market.
The next step is to sell your BTC for STEEM on the BTC-STEEM market.
Finally, you get your STEEM back into Steemit - here's a guide for that.
Your STEEM return for this option will be
[(SBD earned * BTC-SBD price) / BTC-STEEM price]*0.99.
(The 0.99 is to cover the various but small fees)
At this moment, by my calculation, with STEEM having recovered a lot, you gain a measly ~2% going the Exchange route, at which point it's probably not worth jumping through the hoops. But the point is, keep an eye out and know which is the better option at that time. You may just get 20% more STEEM for the same SBD.
PS: The tell tale sign is if there's a major fluctuation on the Exchange - the Internal Market takes hours to catch up. The reverse is also true, the Internal Market could be much more lucrative. I remember when STEEM soared past $4, the Internal Market was still trading at $3. So do your calculations and decide what's the best option at the time for you.