The SPInvest is really showing some promise.
For those who are unfamiliar with this project, it is an investment club that was started by 
There are a number of things I like about that project and how it helps Steem.
Powering Up
The idea behind this project is long-term thinking. Hence, there is no dumping of anything relating to STEEM.
Presently, the main path that is being used is to lease out SP. This provides a return, which is all powered up. All incoming purchases of the tokens, either off Steem-Engine or via direct transfer to 
Therefore, almost all the STEEM received ends up powered up. Right now, that is close to 19K SP. There was an announcement the other day that mentioned how the account grew by 1,000 STEEM via the returns. This, naturally, had been all powered up.
The goal is to sell 1M SPI tokens. They are presently going for 1.1 STEEM apiece. The price will increase when the 25K level is hit. Originally, the tokens were 1 STEEM per, but the price was raised as the value of the account grew. We will see the same thing happen when another ~6K SPI are sold.
Consider the idea of having a couple million STEEM powered up in this one account. Depending upon how long it takes to reach the 1M SPI, the returns on the account could be in the hundreds of thousands. We will also see a continual price increase at various intervals meaning the total raised during the entire process will far exceed a million STEEM.
Project Open To Anyone
This is a classic investment project that Wall Street is familiar with. While there are stock and other investment clubs all over the place, we tend to see them take on an "amateur" tone. This is fine when 5-10 people get together, pool some money, and make joint buying decisions. However, when things move to a larger scale, that tend to get very exclusive.
Wall Street is known for its "accredited investors". These are those that meet the requirements of the SEC for being eligible for projects that offer higher-than-average returns. The spin is they contain more risk but that is a bunch of bull. My view it is simply to keep the average person out while allowing those with money, which usually is enough to meet the "accredit investor" requirement, are allowed in.
If the goal of 20% is reached each year, it is easy to see how this could grow into a nice sum of money over the next decade. This will mean there is 6.19x growth just in the STEEM.
Try to get that from your 401K.
Priced In STEEM
This is an important point for the entire platform. We are going to see a shift, over time, to thinking in terms of STEEM. Presently, most of us are conditioned to put everything into the currency we know which is the fiat we use.
STEEM is priced in USD, JPY, or GBP. That is how we think about it. However, STEEM is the base pair for all tokens on Steem-Engine and will be the same when SMTs come out. Thus, we are going to see people start thinking in terms of what something is worth in STEEM.
This will take on an added meaning when one is able to use STEEM for regular purchases. This is still some time away since we have not seen a great move towards marketplaces as of yet. That will not always be the case. People are going to start offering products and services on sites that are tied to STEEM. Hence, it is only logical they accept the STEEM token as payment.
With SPIinvest, the goal is to keep growing the amount of STEEM that is coming in. This is how the returns are determined. Naturally, if STEEM appreciates compared to fiat, then we can see even a greater return if we convert to that currency. Of course, now you are getting into arbitrage which is another game altogether.
A Great Return
For an investment club that is just getting started, the for couple months are terrific.
The financial world is turned on its head right now with a great deal of the global debt actually under negative interest rates. This means you, essentially, pay them for the privilege of parking your money there. Here is where many feel the insanity of the world is showing up.
In the United States, the 10 year is about 1.6%. This looking like an absolutely gold mine compared to some of those countries which went negative. Of course, anyone who tries to survive on or grow an account on 1.6% knows how bad that is.
SPInvest was able to get 1K STEEM in the first 7 weeks. This was through payouts, not the purchase of the tokens. Thus, if we use the account of 18,500, 1,000 over 7 weeks is 5.4%. This is an annual return of 40.11%.
That is some tremendous growth and certainly beats what is taking place in the legacy financial markets.
Obviously, the expectation of this type of return, long-term, might be a little over the top. However, the present rate is more than double the goal, providing a great deal of room.
Also, there is another point to consider. I just took the total return and divided it by the amount in the account. This is a bit skewed since people are buying tokens each week and some large amounts only went to work. Hence, we see the numbers pushed down a little.
Nevertheless, even from that perspective, it is a terrific way to get things started.
The Ability To Influence Things
For the most part, this is set up as a passive project. The leases are set up by one individual and the payouts are automated. Since that is the bulk of where the STEEM is coming from, it is essentially "sit back and what the account grow".
That does not mean that each of us cannot do a part. A big aspect of the entire Steem ecosystem is we have influence. With this project, the same holds true.
We can upvote the daily posts made by
Resteeming is another way to gain some attention especially with big announcements. As word spreads, the number of people joining, even with a small stake can grow.
Commenting helps to clarify and explain some things. Often the posts do not contain all that is going on and a new person reading the post might not connect some of the dots without going back and reading a bunch of posts. Those of us who are already involved can help to elaborate on some of the different topics covered.
Individually, we might not have much impact, but, collectively, we can really help to push things ahead. A great deal what we do with this project does aid in the return. When you consider it, there is not a lot of activity required to move the numbers up a couple percent. Look at the weekly numbers and add another STEEM or two a day. See how quickly the percentages jump.
Some will say that anyone can do all of this on their own. That is true. The question is "are you"?
Most of us do not have the time to do what is being done with SPInvest. Those that are doing it already, there is no need to even look at a project such as this. However, if one is looking for a way to grow one's STEEM holdings, this could be a part of that solution.
The idea is to keep growing over time while keeping more STEEM on the ecosystem. While there will be some off-chain options, most of the focus is on those activities on chain. As this grows, it could become a larger part of the Steem ecosystem, helping to provide some baseline support by soaking up STEEM along the way.
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