UPDATE: Wow.. thanks for the tremendous support behind this debate. I promised @MadBitcoins to share in whatever bounty may come. He will be a happy camper.

And it appears I failed miserably on one of my statements (that has been pointed out a few times) on powering down. According to the bottom of page nine on the white paper:

SP can only be converted back to STEEM over 2 years via 104 equal weekly payments. ‘1 SP’ can be viewed as a share in a pool of STEEM. Likewise, every time SP is converted back to STEEM it is done at the current ratio. Individuals are guaranteed to have more STEEM in the future than they have when they first convert from STEEM to SP. -Steemit White Paper, pg.9

This makes more sense to me now as your SP and vestment amount doesn't change during the powering down process, only a flag on your account that power down is in process and a calculation of currentSP / 104 = powerDownPayOut. Any other input on the topic would be greatly appreciated, but I think I have a good handle on it now.

Again, countless thanks all! I count myself fortunate to have issued this challenge at the right time.

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Many thanks to MadBitcoins from WorldCryptoNetwork for moderating and guiding this debate!

Pro Steem: @blakemiles84 | Twitter: @bmiles84

Con Steem: Tone Vays | Twitter: @Tone_LLT

Key Points

Blake's Opening Statement

Tone's Opening Statement

Tone's First Cross-Examination

Tone: SEC Website Ponzi

Blake's Response to Ponzi Accusations

Who Controls the Steem Tokens?

Assumptions: Blake's rebuttal

Questions from the crowd

What is the incentive for someone to exchange bitcoin into Steem?

Can Steem exist without Steem Power?

What happens when no one buys Steem on the market anymore?

Seems to me like Steem is more of a gamification concept, than a cryptocurrency. Why is a blockchain necessary? Bonus: Tone asserts Blake is not technically proficient enough to answer.

Blake to Tone: "Are you advocating for KYC for every Steemit user?"

Blake- "Saying its not a blockchain based, on I don't know what evidence, doesn't make it so."

Tone: "I don't think that there are that many smart people in crypto."

Top Ten Steem Users Discussions... what's to stop them from gaming the system?

Note: I identified the points in the debate that stood out to me, but my perception is obviously biased. What are your thoughts?