How to Buy Steem Coin and Why That's a Good Idea

What is Steemit?

You can’t talk about Steem without talking about Steemit, the social media platform upon which it is built. Steemit is a place where people from all over the internet can submit content: images, videos, blog posts, original stuff, stuff other people made that you simply enjoy and want to share, etc. The visual format and general concept is very similar to Reddit, for those of you who are familiar.

Are Steem Dollars the Same Thing as Steem Coin (SMT)?

It might be confusing at first, but Steem Dollars are not the same thing as Steem coin. Steem coin is a currency sold everywhere and can be traded for any other cryptocurrency. Steem Dollars only exist in Steemit. 1 Steem Dollar is always worth 1 United States Dollar, or at least very close. This mechanism helps Steemit users understand how much money they are contributing to other users, as well as earning themselves.

When a user wants to cash out of the system, they’ll be able to turn their Steem Dollars into a USD equivalent amount of Steem coin, which can then be taken away from Steemit and used for any other purpose. Steem Power coins can also be cashed out in a process called “powering down”, but the process is incredibly slow because Steemit wants you to keep your Steem Power in the system if possible. 

How to Buy Steem Coin

As you can see, Steem has an immediate utility because more and more people are using Steemit every day. It’s easy to see how people would be attracted to a “blockchain version of Reddit”, with the opportunity to make money while using it. If you agree with us that Steem coin has solid investment potential, here’s how to buy Steem coin for yourself.

Note: We’re showing how to buy Steem with Bitcoin on Bittrex. Bitcoin is very expensive to spend and transfer right now, so we try to avoid using it in examples when possible. However, users can trade Ethereum for Steem at Poloniex.com, so head on over there if that works better for you and your digital wallet.

Step 1: Navigate to Bittrex.com. Create an account if you do not have one and send Bitcoin to the Bitcoin wallet address you find in your new account. If you have a Bittrex account that’s already funded, all you have to do is type in “Steem” into the Bitcoin Markets category at the top of the Bitcoin Markets page. You’ll see the BTC-STEEM trading pair. Click it to go to the Buy/Sell page where you can buy Steem Coin. (Note: you can also buy Steem Dollars on Bittrex, but remember, they’re only useful within the Steemit platform)

Step 2: Now all you have to do is buy Steem Coin. On the bottom lefthand corner of the screen, you’ll see a table labled “Buy STEEM” beneath “Trading”. Here you’ll put the price (in Bitcoin) that you would like to pay for a single Steem Coin. You can see the current Steem coin prices on the right side of the screen. The “Bid” prices are the prices Steem coin buyers are offering to Steem coin sellers. The “Ask” prices are the prices at which Steem coin sellers are offering Steam coins to Steem coin buyers.

Step 3: Choose the value you’d like to pay for 1 Steem coin. Then choose how many Steem coins you’d like to buy at that price. Bittrex will instantly show you how much Bitcoin you will need to make that trade. If you want to use all of your Bitcoin to get as many Steem coins as possible, just hit “Max”. Now hit “+ Buy STEEM”.

Step 4: Now all you have to do is wait. If your price was reasonable to sellers (meaning as much or more than they were selling their Steem coins, in Bitcoin), then your order should be filled quickly. If your price was lower than current market asking price, you’ll have to wait until Steem coin (maybe) drops in value to the level at which you made your order. When your order is complete, you’ll find your shiny new Steem coin in your Bittrex Steem wallet, where you can then do with it as you please. We recommend transferring them to the eSteem mobile wallet, or going straight to Steemit. 

Will Steem ever make it to Coinbase?

That is a good question and given Coinbase’s strict requirements to get onto its platform you would hazard a guess that the answer is no.

However, steem has a lot of potential, the underlying product is an exciting idea that, given we are in the millenial generation, could easily be huge. With social media taking over day to day life for many people, steem offers a source of income through all of it.

Looking at the cryptocurrencies that are currently on Coinbase, steem isn’t of the same ilk. It has a lot more practical uses but the blockchain is not quite the same as that of ethereum and bitcoin. So the chances are that steem will not make it onto Coinbase anytime soon, but if it continues to grow and the idea can take off, then Coinbase will have to take note and consider it as an option.

Realistically, we are talking about this being years away though. The next in line to a Coinbase seat looks to be ripple, who’s technology has been adopted by many large banks. Steem would have to be in the Facebook category to get any recognition from Coinbase.