Saw [this article](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jan/07/bitcoin-crypto-currencies-mcafee) on The Guardian. They tend to be sceptical about cryptocurrencies in general, but I think this is probably a typical experience for those who dive into trading. It really is a wild west where fortunes can be made, but also lost. He throws in the standard slang about 'hodling' and 'lambos'. Personally I don't trade and I have no interest in a lambo. I've never been a gambler. I've played around with a few dollars in various coins, but nothing serious. The only real money I've made is in Steem that I have earned here and I'm very happy with that.

The markets are so volatile. The article talks about how coins get hyped by high profile figures who may later claim their Twitter was hacked. A few well placed tweets can cause a massive swing that will profit those involved. I note that the first comment I see on the article talks about it being a 'ponzi', but is it any more so than other types of market?

[![Coinmarketcap](https://steemitimages.com/DQmV675cXMRmBfZykUhb3A8v8zCBKffgdKUaKbR5dJqb9cY/Screenshot%20from%202018-01-07%2012-24-21.png)](https://coinmarketcap.com/)

I'm sure plenty of you enjoy playing this game, but it's not for me. I just hope you don't lose more than you can afford. I hear about people borrowing to buy crypto, but that seems a dangerous game. The trends have been upwards for a while, but nobody really knows where it's going.

Steem is doing really well at the moment, but I worry that it's just speculation at the moment. We know it has real potential, but we need to see that materialise before the value should go up. The trends are good. The Alexa rank of the site keeps improving and Hypestat estimates almost a quarter million visitors each day. Word must be spreading. When it's possible for tens of thousands to join each day then it should really take off.

[![Steemit](https://steemitimages.com/DQmZyHJHJ72dMapXVp3ucV6AUoAK4cJPSQMwuQFSbpqWpwF/Screenshot%20from%202018-01-07%2012-28-49.png)](http://steemit.com.hypestat.com/)

I'm sure the nature of Steemit will change as it grows. We've always had people begging for votes and follows. That is likely to continue. They don't realise you have to earn your rewards, but then they see others profiting with little apparent effort by exploiting the system in various ways. I saw one example today who just posts Youtube links with no extra text, but they can make several dollars on each. They are also transferring large amounts to Minnowbooster. Some of those don't have a link, so I don't know what they gets them. I see vote-buying as a problem when it's supporting such low quality posts. Support those doing something original and not just ripping off the work of others.

Respect the work of others. [It's frustrating](https://steemit.com/photography/@dmcamera/why-not-to-use-images-you-find-on-the-internet-it-s-illegal-you-are-stealing) for them to see others profit from their work. I commented on that post about whether it's possible that we could somehow have an image library where we could allocate part of our post rewards to the photographers. I know it's possible to split the rewards. If I need images I use the Google search to find those with a permissive licence. Often that will be on Wikimedia.

I know I just used a load of Youtube videos in my last post, but I feel I added value to the post and Youtube has its own ways to reward creators. That said, a lot of videos on there are stolen and nothing seems to be done about that. Let's try to make Steemit a better model for creative people.

Steem on!

Update: Much as I like the Guardian as a newspaper they [really don't get cryptocurrencies](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jan/07/the-guardian-view-on-cryptocurrencies-a-greater-fools-gold). They are not generally created as a purely speculative thing. They have real utility, but people will speculate on them.

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