So much has been said about how much STEEM is being created every day, but many may not realize that in the past 3 days the supply of STEEM has decreased!
You see on July 4th the Steem network created about $350,000 worth of STEEM Dollars out of about 1.5M STEEM. The network went short-dollars and since that time the value of STEEM has grown almost 3x ($20M to $60M) This means that those Steem Dollars are now backed by just 0.5M STEEM.
Once the price feed catches up (3 day lag) you will see the virtual supply of STEEM start decreasing.
Granted, if the price falls much of this would be reversed.
The Point
Steem Dollars give the entire network leverage and amplify the gains (and losses) of those who hold STEEM and Steem Power.
All numbers are estimates, I didn't take the time to research exact numbers. Someone can probably reply witha comment containing more accurate numbers.