Steem (STEEM): how it works, supply and reviews
In short
- Type
- Blockchain for social apps; Steemit is one app built on it.
- Issuance
- Inflation started at 9.5% a year and falls by 0.5 percentage points a year until it reaches 0.95%.
- Risks and caveats
- STEEM and SBD are not insured, and lost keys cannot be recovered.
- Checked
- 1 November 2026
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Key facts
- Ticker
- STEEM
- Official site
- steem.com
Key facts checked on 1 November 2026 against official sources.
What is Steem
Steem is a delegated proof-of-stake blockchain built for social apps: users earn STEEM-based rewards for posting and curating content. Steemit, the best-known app on it, is a separate product built on top of the chain.
Network and consensus
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Type | Blockchain for social apps; Steemit is one app built on it. |
| Consensus | Delegated proof of stake: block producers (witnesses) are approved by STEEM stakeholders. |
| Block time | A new block every 3 seconds; 21 witnesses produce 21 blocks per 63-second round. |
| Technology | Built on Graphene technology, with witnesses instead of miners; proof-of-work mining has been removed. |
| Launched | Genesis block on 24 March 2016. |
| Fees | No transaction fees for sending STEEM or SBD; actions use bandwidth that depends on Steem Power. |
| Head block | Block 110,932,980 at 02:44:42 UTC on 1 November 2026 (public Steemit API node). |
Supply and issuance
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Issuance | Inflation started at 9.5% a year and falls by 0.5 percentage points a year until it reaches 0.95%. |
| New-issuance split | Current chain parameters (official API, 1 November 2026): 65% of new STEEM to content rewards, 15% to Steem Power holders and 10% to the proposal fund; the steem.com FAQ says 10% goes to witnesses. |
| Tokens | Three tokens: STEEM (liquid), Steem Power (vested STEEM) and Steem Dollars (SBD). |
What STEEM is used for
- STEEM is the liquid token; it can be powered up into Steem Power for voting influence and rewards.
- Steem Power is the vesting (staked) form of STEEM and sets a user's bandwidth and vote weight.
- SBD (Steem Dollars) is a token that seeks price stability to the US dollar and can be converted to STEEM.
Who develops and governs Steem
- Company
- steem.com is published by Steemit Inc.
- Governance
- Witnesses (block producers) are elected by the community through stake-weighted votes.
- Open source
- The chain code and the Steemit.com app are open source on GitHub.
- Developer
- Core repository: steemit/steem on GitHub.
History
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 24 March 2016 | The Steem genesis block is broadcast. |
| 4 July 2016 | The first rewards payout takes place. |
| 14 July 2016 | Steemit says a cyber attack compromised fewer than 260 accounts and that affected users will be reimbursed. |
| July 2018 | The chain stalls at block 23,847,548 because of an invalid transaction; a patch (v0.19.5) restores operation within hours. |
| 27 August 2019 | Hardfork 21 activates; about 45 minutes later the blockchain halts during automated validation, and block production resumes at 2:47 PM EST the same day. |
| 10 June 2020 | Steem 0.23.0 is released; it cuts the power-down period from 13 weeks to 4 weeks. |
Security and audits
- STEEM and SBD balances are not insured; users are responsible for their own keys.
- Each account has separate owner, active, posting and memo keys with different authority levels.
- Lost passwords or keys cannot be recovered, per the steem.com FAQ.
Security incidents
| Date | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 14 July 2016 | Hack: Steemit (the main Steem app) was hit by a cyber attack: fewer than 260 accounts were compromised and less than $85,000 worth of STEEM and SBD may have been stolen. The site was taken offline; Bittrex paused STEEM and SBD deposits and withdrawals. Funds returned: Steemit said compromised users would be completely reimbursed and that stolen STEEM or SBD would be fully refunded by Steemit. | steemit.com |
| July 2018 | Network halt: The chain stalled at block 23,847,548 after a scheduled power-down from an invalid transaction could not be processed; transactions sent during the halt failed. A patch (v0.19.5) was deployed by most witnesses within a few hours. Steemit said accounts and tokens were not at risk. | steemit.com |
| 27 August 2019 | Network halt: About 45 minutes after Hardfork 21 activated, the blockchain halted during automated validation because of a bug; block production resumed at 2:47 PM EST the same day after a fix. | steemit.com |
Further incidents are reported by third parties (press, incident databases) but are not confirmed in the company’s own channels, so they are not listed here.
Risks and caveats
- STEEM and SBD are not insured, and lost keys cannot be recovered.
- The sources record two halts (July 2018 and August 2019).
- SBD only seeks price stability to the US dollar; Steem does not describe it as backed by reserves.
- Block production depends on 21 scheduled witnesses chosen by stake-weighted voting.
Official links
- Website: steem.com
- FAQ: steem.com/faq
- Docs: developers.steem.io
- Source code: github.com/steemit/steem
- Block explorer: steemdb.io
- Blog: steemit.com/@steemitblog
Questions and answers
What is Steem?
Steem is a delegated proof-of-stake blockchain for social apps that rewards users for posting and curating content. It has three tokens: STEEM, Steem Power and SBD.
What is the difference between Steem and Steemit?
Steem is the blockchain and cryptocurrency; Steemit is a social media app built on top of it.
When did Steem launch?
The Steem genesis block was broadcast on 24 March 2016, and the first rewards payout took place on 4 July 2016.
Was Steemit hacked?
Yes. On 14 July 2016 Steemit said fewer than 260 accounts were compromised and less than $85,000 in STEEM and SBD may have been stolen; it said affected users would be reimbursed.
Does Steem charge transaction fees?
No. Steem says sending STEEM or SBD has no transaction fee; actions use bandwidth that depends on Steem Power.
Sources
- Steem - Home
- Steem - About
- Steem - FAQ
- Steem - Buying Steem tokens
- steemit/steem on GitHub
- steemit/steem releases
- Steemit - Important Security Announcement (14 July 2016)
- Steemit - First Update to July 14 Security Announcement (15 July 2016)
- Steemit - Steem Blockchain Patch Issued (3 July 2018)
- Steemit - #NewSteem is Live (27 August 2019)
- SteemDB block explorer
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