A new press release from the Steem Blockchain Team has given a release timeline for the Steem blockchain’s Smart Media Tokens (SMTs). An official TestNet release is slated for January 2019 along with a MainNet launch scheduled for March. The Steemit Team also mentioned briefly that they are nearly complete with Steemit’s Hardfork 20 update, which is scheduled for release this September. With Hardfork 20 going live soon, the team is now focusing on delivering newly updated Smart Media Tokens (SMTs) to the Steem blockchain.
Steem Announces Smart Media Tokens
Smart Media Tokens (SMTs) are described as a new token launching protocol similar to Ethereum‘s ERC20 token standard. SMTs, however, will benefit from various features facilitated by the Steem blockchain, including upgrades like three-second fee-less transfers. SMTs are state-of-the-properties enabled by the Steem blockchain and can be used by “anyone to launch their own STEEM-like token with customizable features including Founders Tokens, Token Emission Rates, Proof-of-Brain, ICO Smart Contracts, and more.”
According to the announcement, SMTs will enable anyone in the world to create their own cryptocurrency with “industry-leading capabilities, and immediate access to the largest cryptocurrency community in the world.”
SMTs are set to be complete and live on the TestNet by January 15, 2019, and the full SMT release is scheduled for March 24, 2019.
Steemit’s Upcoming Hardfork 20 Update
First launched on July 4th, 2016, Steemit is a blogging and social networking website where content publishers receive blockchain-based rewards in the form of Steem tokens for their work. Steem currently has a $244,808,483 market cap, with over one million estimated users.
Steemit’s highly anticipated Hardfork 20 (Velocity Hardfork) comes with numerous key updates to the popular content sharing platform. In a recently published 30-section report, the Steemit Blockchain Team announced a number of new features including new credit resource systems, account update protocols, curation updates and changes to the platform’s witness update operations. The Velocity Hardfork is scheduled to take place on September 25th.