Steem power is not a cryptocurrency. Why does this matter? You decide.

Steem power is not a crypto currency. In order to generate Steem power you have to destroy steem coins.

• Steem - Cryptocurrency
• Steem Backed Dollars - Cryptocurrency
• Steem Power - Is not a Cryptocurrency

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If you go to Minds.com you will see that they have "Minds points".

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Minds points are points you can spend money to buy that give you benefits for using the social media platform. In this case these points can be used to boost your posts.

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You can spend money to receive these points. Currently right now these points are not taxed under the IRS laws. These points can be traded and they can be directly cashed out. With that said the similarities to Steem power are extremely hard to not notice.

Steem power is much closer to Minds points in nature.

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When is a cryptocurrency technically a taxable asset under IRS laws.

• (1) Traded among users
• (2) Exchange for U.S. dollars or other currencies (including taxable virtual currencies).
  https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-14-21.pdf

With the above information we should take a closer look at Steem power.

• You can, at any time, destroy your steem coins to convert them into Steem power.
• Steem power cannot be traded.
• Steem power offers the user advantages to the social media platform.
• Steem power offers the ability to generate new Steem and SBD coins
• Steem power can be powered down over the course of 13 weeks at the cost of Steem power. This action will generate new Steem coins directly.

Is steem power still technically Steem? No, they are two totally different features. The only connection they have is that the destruction of one can generate new points / coins of the other. Steem power is not a currency, Steem power is not tradable. Steem power is absent from all exchanges. The only way to gain steem power is to destroy steem or buy it directly.

• Steem power is much closer in nature to Minds.com points but is actually even far more restrictive!

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Steem power has no value by itself. Something that cannot be directly traded does not have a market value of its own. This is similar to Minds points in that Minds.com itself forcefully sets the value to what they directly claim. This is exactly how Steem power works as well. The Steem power platform will generate new tokens at the value it deems correct. Currently right now one Steem power equals one Steem coin. But the devs of the Steemit blockchain can change this exchange rate any time they want. The market does not control the value of Steem power.

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Minds points are only one of many examples of similar points that exist around the internet. Its very common for a social media platform to offer some kind of point system. For example karma on Reddit is a much closer example to that of Steem power. Reddit Karma is not a crypto currency either. Many video games include a similar system as well. Warframe is an online shooter that uses platinum which is much closer to Steem power in nature.

Nearly all online video games allow you to directly purchase a type of credit or points that allow you to gain bonuses or even purchase micro transactions. In many cases these in game points are even valued at what the player base decides based on the in game market.

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In order for the IRS to tax Steem power the laws are going to have to include all similar points systems in the above examples. Steem is not a cryptocurrency as defined by IRS law.

As it stands right now, Steemit is the only platform that offers the ability to destroy tokens to generate a special variable attached to your wallet that allows you to generate additional coins at a later time.