Steem blockchain first time live in March 2016. It was developed by the US entrepreneur Ned Scott and developer Dan Larimer. In July month of that year, Scott and Larimer founded Steemit Inc., and launched the homonymous Reddit-like social media platform for community, the first application built on the Steem blockchain.
The Steemit company is also known for releasing blockchain-based alternatives for major social media outlets like Youtube and Instagram, and other social media ,
replicated by DTube and APPICS respectively. Currently, there are more than 1.3 million registered accounts on Steem, according to data provided by a blockchain explorer.
According to the project’s white paper, Steem is “a blockchain database that supports community building and social interaction with cryptocurrency rewards.” To support the “reward” option, Steem has integrated two in-house cryptocurrencies — STEEM, a volatile cryptocurrency, and USD-pegged stablecoins dubbed Steem Dollars, or SBD. Users can “power up” their accounts to have more influence on the distribution of rewards by transferring from STEEM to Steem Power, although the powered-up STEEM cannot be withdrawn for almost 13 to 14 weeks.