Exactly. You can limit your creation as much as you want, but if there is little to no utility for your tokens and thus no demand for them, then it won't matter if you have 1 billion coins or 100 coins - they'll be worthless in the long-run.
And you're right - advertising revenue isn't the only potential source of revenue for the blockchain, but it is an important and proven one. And it can be implemented for the benefit of the user base and investors. Having a revenue and dividend model should not be underestimated or dismissed. It's what will differentiate successful blockchains from the unsuccessful ones...and the outright scams.
Real investors aren't stupid. And most of the crypto market today is not comprised of actual investors. If you want to attract the real money and make your blockchain and apps viable for the long-term, make your product appealing to those who know what they're doing and know what to look for when investing. Put some actual thought into the long-term success of the platform and its investors and you'll find that you're much more likely to achieve what you had hoped for.
Does the blockchain still need a revenue stream once the currency is being used in the real world and has value? What would have the most impact, the revenue stream itself or putting Steem out there as the Currency You Can Buy Stuff Withtm? Just wondering, let's do both.
If the companies that buy Steem for advertising will at some point also retail their products for Steem in some of their distrinution channels for their marketing purposes, we'll be golden.
I would argue that any blockchain that's issuing tokens needs a revenue stream for long-term viability/sustainability. What we're dealing with in crypto aren't really "currencies." They are more like issued stock and other assets that represent a share of value in the respective blockchain. Having no revenue for a crypto token would be like issuing stocks for a company that tries to tell you, "We don't need to make any money - you have that stock certificate! If other people believe that the certificate is worth $100, then it is!"
Of course, this falls apart as soon as people simply stop "believing" in the value and actually look for valuation metrics, only to discover that there are no fundamentals.
Network effect can have a huge impact on overall value, but having a revenue stream puts solid fundamentals behind asset value. Both are good to have, but as long as you have revenue, the network growth isn't as important.
Yep, that's the obvious goal here. Bring in individuals/companies that want to advertise, get them involved in the ecosystem, have them sell their products and accept the Steem currencies. Create that business ecosystem that everyone is always talking about. If we want businesses, we need to accept advertising. That's how it works.
Yet. Once they are, and some could be, I am not so sure they will still need an underlying anything to be useful and valuable. Anything I can buy stuff with I see as a currency, not a stock. But never mind, that is still some way away anyway and I may be wrong.