Steem is a multi-purpose digital cryptocurrency used to power the social news platform, Steemit.Unlike most forms of cryptocurrencies, Steem is relatively easy to produce and collect as the procedure doesn't require extensive resources nor expensive hardware for exploitation.
So How is Steem Produced?
Steem is produced through the mining process which takes place digitally. At first, the cryptocurrency is processed through one on the many systematic 'mining' algorithms after which processing commences using a specialized updated version of Delegated Proof Of Stake aka DPOS; a flexible, efficient, and decentralized consensus model, as used by STEEM.
During the DPOS, accounts used to block-create (witnesses) get elected by the upvote of Steem users rather than depending on the proof of work method to obtain blocks. Instead, blockchain transactions are processed in a recurring duration of 3 seconds as blocks by the Steem network's active scheduling. It is when the block-creators (witnesses) are awarded a small portion of the rewards formed in each block, leaving the rest to be distributed among the authors and the curators respectively.