### To Any And All Investors:

Looking at where the price of STEEM is right now, and what it did the last time it was this low (somewhere in April, 2017), the prevailing question should not be, how low can it go, but how much longer before it takes off?

While Bitcoin and maybe a handful of other tokens have come out of the crypto winter, most others, including STEEM, have continued in it. Why that is, in general, can be attributed to any of a number of different factors, combinations thereof, along with good old fashioned waiting for an opportunity.

I'm writing to invite you to look at STEEM as that possible opportunity.

![Screen Shot 2019-08-19 at 8.45.49 PM.png](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmaCvbVVhmcnkrk73GC57z8fS96gy6bXZfD3PGjagqnDdA/Screen%20Shot%202019-08-19%20at%208.45.49%20PM.png)

#### HardFork 21
Undoubtedly, you've heard that there are two rather large components to the latest hardfork that will take effect next week. This is now assured since 18 of the top 21 witnesses have already adopted it, meaning the supermajority has been met and consensus reached. The two components are:

* The STEEM Proposal System (SPS), aka, the worker proposal system, or DAO, as it may be referred to elsewhere

* The Economic Improvement System (EIP), which proponents believe is a much needed shot in the arm for the current blockchain economics, and opponents warn could be the beginning of the end for STEEM. At least the social side of it, where most remaining users still hang out.

I would imagine there's not much to explain about the SPS. This is meant to fund all kinds of things on STEEM, though a lot of it will probably fall into some kind of project development. As it is, development under the hood of the blockchain, as well as new dApps connecting to it, along with some interactions from other chains (like SNAX) has occurred, despite the bear market, and without the SPS.

Why the EIP may be important to you, as an investor, is either way, the ROI is meant to jump. Be it through good old fashion curation, as has been promised by the proponents, or continuing delegation (which has a chance of making even more returns than it does now), the rate of return is expected to get better. I'm told that's what investors want, and that it's the number one priority when looking at opportunities.

#### Cost Savings
You might also be aware that late last year, Steemit Inc., the folks behind the blockchain, its improvements, etc., downsized and restructured. For many, that has been looked at as a negative. However, what has happened since all of that took place—a refocused approach, less distraction, more communication, cost savings in the hundreds of thousands, more scalability—in short, a lot of good has come out of it, and continues to come out of it.

One could argue that Steemit, Inc. was bloated, heading in too many directions, and was unsustainable in any kind of market other than one that constantly went up. Since reality means forging on even during the lean times, these changes show that Steemit Inc. has made some of the harder decisions (compelled or not), so that it can continue to help STEEM along.

STEEM is now one of the leanest blockchains to run a node on with as much traffic as it has, and with how much it aims to have in the future.

#### Steemit Inc. Is Not STEEM
While the fortunes of STEEM have seemed inseparable to that of Steemit Inc., the two are not the same thing, and more than ever before, STEEM's fate is tied to the community that has sprung up on it, and those who are yet to come and build upon it. Steemit Inc. has been divesting itself of STEEM on a regular basis, delegating a big chunk of their holdings to dApps, while also providing delegations for new accounts.

While many will look at this divestiture as a bad thing, and perhaps a main contributor to why the STEEM price is where it is, the fact is, the more STEEM it let's go of, the more there is available for purchase, which means a potential for wider distribution. It may not be the popular way to do it, and it may be painful now, but Steemit Inc.'s potential hold on STEEM is weakening, which I understand to be a good thing.

The fact that there is a three-person committee formed to re-evaluate Steemit Inc's delegations, for good or ill, is meant as another move towards decentralization, which I'm also told investors want in crypto.

#### STEEM Alt Tokens And SMTs
Innovations have continued without Steemit, Inc. STEEM-Engine exists in large part because Steemit Inc. was yet to deliver on SMTs. While not SMTs, the tokens to be found on STEEM-Engine are creating communities (or tribes) that have their own sets of rules, their own economic systems, and their positives and their negatives. If nothing else, these tokens are providing a real world test to what SMTs are capable of, albeit perhaps on a smaller scale.

While SMTs have been promised for quite a long time and have yet to arrive, the work has resumed on them, meaning they are nearer than ever before. While no set date is available yet, they are on track to be into the testing phase by the fourth quarter of this year, which means another hard fork to implement them after that.

#### The Community
STEEM is meant to be many things, but it continues to be most widely a social media platform. And those of us who are here and still participating to any degree are largely in it to see STEEM rise again, and surpass its previous rates of growth, and this time, sustain them. We do care, so much, that we can't seem to stop talking about what should be done. And no, we're not afraid to go after one another about it, either. While decorum should always be maintained, and we could certainly do a better job of that, people are invested in STEEM, and they care what happens to their stake.

As an investor, that should be important, too. That there are people that are here for the long haul, and who are looking to the future while of necessity keeping an eye on the present.

We've got a wide range of personalities, some of the outsized, some of them barely able to function, and probably every point in between. We come from all walks of life, from many points on the map, and represent a wide range of thought, experience, knowledge and passion. Which means we have our share of spammers, scammers, and phishers here, too. I doubt they would be here if they didn't see opportunity. That's not a selling point, just a reality. And while there's been plenty done to discourage such unwanted activity, there is more coming and more to be done after that.

#### Upside Vs. Downside
STEEM's all time high is over $8.00 USD. Currently it sits under $0.18. According to my math, that's over 44 times under its ATM. Bitcoin's ATM is a little north of 20,000 USD. It currently sits out about 50% of that. Which would be the better buy?

Even if STEEM only gets back to $2, that's over 11 times more than where it is now. Is Bitcoin likely to hit nearly $120,000 USD, the equivalent of what buying STEEM at 18¢ would be if it went to $2? $1 million USD invested in STEEM equals over 5,500,000 STEEM. The same $1 million would only get you around 92 Bitcoin.

On STEEM, you would have substantial influence at even a tenth of that. On Bitcoin, and various other alt coins, not-so-much. STEEM has many places it could go with investment and development. Most of the other opportunities have one type of use, not multiple.

#### An Invitation To You
I'm not an investment professional, and this is not investment advice. As with any investment, weighing of the pros and cons should be done before any action is taken. This is meant, however, as an invitation to take a look, if not a second or a third, consider what I've presented here, and look into it even deeper.

Along with some user and governance shortcomings, you will find a sleek, fast, free, scalable, and continually developing blockchain with a core group of users who care about what happens here, and about each other. While their reasons for being here will differ, along with their needs, their talents, knowledge, etc., the vast majority want STEEM to succeed, even if that means ongoing change.

I invite you to take a closer look. Make the comparisons. See where STEEM has been, versus where it is going. Weigh the alternatives. I think you'll see a lot of good reasons to invest once you do.

Sincerely,

###### *Glen Anthony Albrethsen*, @glenalbrethsen
###### *One of many invested and concerned users of the STEEM blockchain*

<sub>Image source—World Coin Index</sub>