There are 3 'tokens' on the Steem blockchain: STEEM, SBD (Steem Dollars), and Steem Power (SP)
STEEM
STEEM is the basic cryptocurrency of the Steem blockchain. You can earn it by posting, commenting or upvoting on Steemit.com. You can also deposit, withdraw or trade STEEM at any time.
STEEM POWER (SP)
STEEM can be powered up (or ‘staked’) as Steem Power (SP). The more Steem Power you have, the greater your influence on the platform. Having more Steem Power gives you more voting power, which allows you to earn more ‘curation rewards. Having Steem Power also gives you the power to vote for the witnesses who oversee the blockchain.
Steem Power can be converted back to STEEM through the process of ‘powering down’. This takes four weeks and you get a quarter of your Steem Power as liquid STEEM each week.
SBD (Steem Dollars)
SBD was originally designed to be on parity with the US dollar - so 1 SBD should equal 1 US dollar. However its value does fluctuate with the market although not as much as the value of STEEM, and it generally stays within about 10% of the dollar value.
Steem Power Delegation
Steem Power can be leant to other people through a process known as Delegation.
When you delegate SP you retain the ownership of the Steem Power, but the person you have delegated it to enjoys the benefits of its voting power and collects the curation rewards from its use.
SP is very important. Daily posting or direct buying can increase your SP. So, when you want to get more SP quickly, is there any way? The answer is delegating SP, which means lending your SP to others.