This post has been two weeks in the making. It'll be long, apologies for that, but kindly bear with me - there's some interesting observations here!
There has been considerable speculation about the inequality on Steem. It has caused a lot of anguish to some, while most have understood that this is a known effect, if not a central tenet, of the stake-weighted reputation system.
The controversy - Is Steem increasing inequality?
Since joining Steemit, I've been meaning to get down to the bottom of it. Sure, the system will not work if everyone has the same vote - it'll always in inequal, just like every economic system in the history of the world has always been. But at its onset, Steemit had a startling GINI co-efficient of 0.98. The (unfair) accusation lobbied by some was that Steemit will just get more and more inequal to the point where all the power will lie with just a few people. I was concerned too
For the last two weeks, I have been diligently tracking data from Steemd.com. Across 200 data points, I have now compiled it into one single stacked chart that definitively answers that question.
It's a resounding NO. The numbers speak the truth - I'll let the chart speak for itself. Steemit is getting more equal! It's a massive and rapid redistribution of wealth, in just 2 weeks.
I'll explain it all, but first, let me step back and briefly run you through my process
Methodology
I shall keep this as simple as possible. If you wish to learn details, please comment - I'll reply.
The intention here was to survey the change in impact of the various tiers of Steem Power holders on the Steemit community. This is not about overall wealth - though I'm collecting data for that as well. Nor is it about number of people getting rich. To that intent, I'm collecting data on Active 24 hours and stake percentage from Steemd.com Distribution.
Every day, I would collect three sets of data for each level at the same times. As Steem is still a relatively small community, there are major deviations. I've tried to smooth out these anomalies, though as you'll see, there's a major one - the temporary closure of registrations.
Steem Power vs Vests
OK, so the title is misleading, what I'm really looking at is Vests and their percentage stake for each level. This difference between Vests and Steem Power is crucial in understanding why the top 0.1% are happy to redistribute their stake. Briefly, when you invest in Steem Power, you are really investing in Vests. You own a small stake of Steemit - think of it as shareholding. Steem Power is just the Steem value representation for your Vests at that moment. As the platform grows, so does the value of each Vest. Each Vest is worth more Steem.
For instance, 20% stake of a $100 pie is more valueable than a 10% stake of a $300 pie.
Now, let's dive into each tier.
Over 1 Billion Vests - The Whales
There about 50 Whales or, as I light-heartedly like to call them, Stars. They have an enormous impact on the community. Over the last 2 weeks, they have been busy grooming the community.
This is the easiest conclusion - the Whales are busy redistributing their wealth across the platform, generating Steem. It's a sharp decline, barring the anomaly caused by the temporary closing of new registrations.
It's easy to see what's happening here, whales like @steemed are grooming the next generation.
Over 10 Million Vests - The Dolphins
We have two tiers for the Dolphins - 10M+ and 100M+ Vests. Some may call the 100M+ Orcas, I like to call them Planets or Minke Whales. :)
So, this is where the whale's re-distribution is going - to the 100M+ tier. There are 170 Steemers in this category, but growing every day. These are the top creators of Steemit, who the Whales are grooming to be Top Curators. It's an enormous increase in stakeholding - from 14% to 20% in just 2 weeks!
The 10M+ category is pretty much holding steady, though we get a hint of an imbalance in the system right now which will become more apparent in the next section.
Going forward, it will be the responsibility of the 100M+ dolphins to promote the 10M+.
Under 10 Million Vests - The Minnows
There is a LOT of activity here! 0.1 MV minnows are constantly being promoted to 1 MV minnows, while minnows become dolphins. There's a lot of variation, but the general trend is still up.
The only (ostensibly) spot of concern here is the 0.01 MV minnows, who make up ~80% of the community. Their stakeholding is decreasing. More and more Steemers are promoted upwards, but less and less are coming into replace them. One perspective is - Steem is redistributing too fast for its own good!
So there you have it folks. Steemit is in a very healthy state. It will always be a Zipfian distribution, of course, and that's OK.
Of course, it's only been 2 weeks. I'll continue to track these trends. I'm also working on a post about overall distribution, but it will take one more month to collect enough data.
Thank you for reading! I'd love to hear your thoughts and interpretation.