What is the difference between STEEM, Steem Power, and Steem Dollars?
STEEM - STEEM is the base liquid currency token in the platform. STEEM can be powered up into Steem Power, traded for Steem Dollars, or transferred to other accounts. It is a cryptocurrency token, similar to bitcoin.
Steem Power - Steem Power (abbreviated SP) is a measurement of how much influence a user has in the Steem network. The more Steem Power a user holds, the more they can influence the value of posts and comments. Steem Power is less liquid. If a user wishes to “Power Down” SP, they will receive equal distributions of the STEEM weekly, over a 13 week period.
Steem Dollars - Steem Dollars (commonly abbreviated SBD) are liquid stable-value currency tokens designed to be pegged to $1 USD. Steem Dollars can be traded with STEEM, and transferred to other accounts for commerce or exchange. Steem Dollars may also be converted into STEEM via a process that takes 3.5 days.
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What is delegated Steem Power?
Users have the option to delegate Steem Power to other users. When a user is delegated Steem Power - their bandwidth, content votes, and curation rewards are calculated as if it were their own Steem Power. Users are not able to power down or cash out delegated Steem Power however, as it still belongs to the original owner.
Most users will have a small amount of Steem Power delegated to them by the Steemit account after creating an account via steemit.com.
Delegated Steem Power shows up in a user's wallet below their actual Steem Power balance in parentheses.