Steem is next in line to be considered the next big thing in cryptocurrency.
The digital currency behind Steemit decentralized social media platform, which rewards posters and voters online, overtook The DAO to be the world’s fifth most valuable cryptocurrency following its 1000% plus growth in the days following Steemit’s first cryptocurrency payout on July 4.
Steem’s rise
On July 3rd Steemit’s market cap was put at $15,009,110, good for the fifteenth spot on that list. Meanwhile, the 24 hour trading volume was at $8,351. Within a week Steem made a jump from 15th to 7th on the list with a rapid expansion in market cap to $53,255,780.
By Sunday July 17, a week later, its market cap has risen to $296,231,190 to clinch the third place on the list of top cryptocurrencies. Currently sitting at $343 million this leaves it in a position to where it is still well behind Ethereum, which has a $1.029 billion market cap, a rise from its $982,972,205 on July 3.
Whether Steem will be able to maintain its growth or even gather more steam against the top two currencies is as good as anybody’s guess. Users sharing their beneficial experience with Steemit has worked well to push its subscriber base though we can’t say how long such would last.
Ethereum’s hard fork
However, the Ethereum hard fork to recover the funds from the DAO exploits after it was hacked in June is worth watching out for.
Occuring at block 1,920,000, the reset promises a move of all the money into a smart contract that can only reimburse investors.
The Ether's price increase in May was attributed to the rise of The DAO - or the distributed autonomous organization.
Hopefully, the hard fork would bring back the magic that would push Ethereum into a growth trend.