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I am going to go out on a limb here by being a bit presumptuous. Thus, I will give the benefit of the doubt to Steemit Inc that it will bring out the Smart Media Token protocol at some point this year.

While it being delayed is a real pain in the arse, I do not believe it is dead. It appears they are making progress with RocksDB. After that, I am hopefully the resources will be put into creating the SMT protocol.

It is uplifting to see articles posted by members who are starting to see the potential. While it is not the overwhelming majority, there are a number of people who gave this some serious thought as to how it works. I will do my best to lay out a path I think is viable in terms of the future direction of things.

We have a number of people posting about getting STEEM listed on exchanges or trying to find ways where there is a Fiat to STEEM (and back) conversion. At the same time, going to coinmarketcap and you will see the price of STEEM priced in a fiat currency.

This is necessary at this time although it will be, hopefully, an unnecessary step.

The world is still tied to fiat. That we do not question. Part of the evolution of this blockchain is going to be for it to become a self contained ecosystem. By that I mean where one can get a vast amount of the products and services required right on this blockchain.

Presently, fiat is the go-between. Ultimately, we want to see STEEM take up that mantle.

The World Of Fiat

Have you ever pondered why everyone is using fiat? Did you notice how difficult it is to break away from it?

Many would say the reason for this is merchants and vendors do not accept crypto. Instead, they require fiat as a means of payment.

I disagree. The reason why we use fiat is that is what we earn. In the United States, no matter who you receive payment from, it is deposited in your accounts as USD. This is true for Social Security checks from the government. It also is mirrored in people'e paychecks. Interest from banks is paid in the same currency. Finally, sell any investment and guess what you receive.

It is common sense to realize that people will spend what they have. Hence, those with USD sitting in their checking account are going to use that. This is not going to change until people start receiving another currency in their accounts.

Could this be crypto?

The Cryptocurrency World

We all know this is a rather young industry which hardly made a dent in the global economy.

The evolution of this world is one where it is a sideline or adjunct to the fiat world. We are at the point where most of the entry into cryptocurrency is via fiat conversion. In other words, people need to buy cryptocurrency to partake in it.

Obviously, this worked well and we see that a $100+ billion industry sprung up. People are willing to invest in this for a variety of different reasons. Whatever the reasoning, it is safe to say that all are seeking a profit. Entry, for the most part, is like any other investment or business opportunity. Crypto buyers simply opted for ETH, BTC, or whatever over some stock or bond.

This is not to diminish any of the cryptocurrencies that are out there. It, thus far, provided a wonderful foundation to build upon.

The SMT Economy

This is something that is going to make Steem totally unique.

Presently, people can join the Steem blockchain and get rewarded in STEEM. This was true since the blockchain went fully live in July of 2016. Each week, STEEM is paid out from the blockchain to accounts based upon the upvotes received the week prior.

The Smart Media Token protocol is only going to take this idea and put it on steroids. Instead of earning STEEM, one will be able to earn, most likely, hundreds of different coins. As we see the applications number into the hundreds, most are going to have a SMT tied to them.

Here is the revolutionary and, perhaps, disruptive idea. What the Steem blockchain does is allows people to earn and receive something other than fiat. Think about that for a second. Whereas most other blockchains require one to purchase the coin, on Steem one can simply earn it. There is the ability to come on here with nothing, or very little, and start earning.

This might not be completely recognizable now but with the SMTs it is. Ponder what it will be like to earn 25-50 different coins on the Steem blockchain on a monthly basis. No matter what you do on this blockchain, you are earning currency.

Hence, we are going to see people with cryptocurrency in their accounts rather than fiat.

Commerce

Of course, having the ability to earn is one piece of the puzzle. The other is what to do with it.

One of the reason many of us were so excited about the @magicdice announcement the other day is because they told everyone how they were going to accept every SMT on this blockchain once it is released. Thus, there is no need even to use STEEM as a go-between, the application will accept it. Therefore, one can bet using Hunt, Dlike, or AFIT tokens in addition to STEEM and MAGIC.

I want you to think for a second about what it will be like to have a Steem based marketplace where goods and services are sold. How about a Steem based Netflix which provides video entertainment? Could we start hiring people off the Steem blockchain for particular services (Steem Craigslist)? For those so inclined, how about a Steem investment center?

We could go on and on with the ideas but you get the point. The crucial aspect to all of this is that people have the ability to earn. Getting a currency in one's account goes a long way in determining what is used.

So tell me, what happens when people have an overwhelming amount of Steem based currency compared to fiat along with a place to spend it? What happens when autonomous "brokers" are set up to handle things such as house and automobile purchases? This could be extended out to the electrical grid.

Essentially, anything people do online can be handled under the SMT economy.

How about a Steem based web browser similar to Brave paying out in a SMT?

This is some of the potential that I see on here. We have not even touched upon the upvote economy where one's bills could be paid, at least in part, via upvotes.

How cool will that be?

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