Steem is not a place, not even a name.
I have repeated this over and over again for weeks now.

I’ve been dedicated to Steem since my day one here.
I’ve never powered down for all of those years.

The Fork is coming

For systems like Steem, a fork is an update that affects the rules of the blockchain.
Unlike the previous 22 forks in the history of Steem, this one is special.
I don't want to repeat what has already been written.
If you live under a rock, here are some posts for you to read:

• Why I won’t be compromising with Justin Sun
• Announcing the Launch of Hive Blockchain
• It's Time to Decentralize

For over a month, I have been working tirelessly with over a hundred people to prepare for the update.

-"It's not possible."
-"No, it's necessary."
_{- Interstellar}

Yes, this update changes the name of the blockchain and the name of the assets.
Yes, I’m sorry to have to leave the Steem name and logo behind.
Yes, we are struggling and we will struggle with a lot of issues related to the move.

“This is a classic ideological split: the people who actively want a centralized chain can stay on Steem, the ones that don't will build Hive.”

I will continue to do what I have been doing so far,
for the same reason,
for the same people,
for the same friends.
For those of you who will build Hive with me.

Steem after the fork

Those who won’t update Steem to Hive will continue to operate in a “parallel universe” on a centralized platform that we knew as Steem.

I see no point in supporting the old version, for the same reasons why I didn’t support the parallel versions running HF 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20 or 21 code after the updates.

Because this is an unprecedented situation and everything is happening on very short notice,
I will stay around on for a while to help Steemians upgrade/move to Hive.
I will also start the powerdown process on Steem some time after the fork.

“I am a bomb technician, if you see me running, try to catch up”

See you in the Hive!