They think they are giving away money for free. Printing money out-of-thin-air but they don't think of it that way.
Yes
Feels great at the start doesn't it. Ponzi are always eurphoric until they leave everyone entirely pissed off at the end.
They just see all those illiquid STEEM POWER valued in $$$$$$ (which is possible only because almost no one is cashing out and instead are powering up, except the probably the whales).
No, they don't really pay attention to the dollar value of Steem Power or think about cashing it out. Only crypto nerds think that way.
It is impossible they don't notice it. Subconsciously it is in their eurphoria.
Their subconscious has been trained to know money makes people happy.
And they think maybe some of that karma will come back to them. They think everyone on Steem is so happy something better than their actual lives or other Internet sites.
Welcome to social media. Every single social media platform in existence consists in large part of people making their lives look better than they actually are, or occasionally posting drama for the voyeuristic enjoyment of others.
But Facebook can actually keep that illusion alive because it is trading virtual goods. My gf still feels good when she sees a cute dog. That is the reason she is on Fb.
Steemit is trading real money and the bubble only lasts for as long as everyone continues to POWER UP everything.
Eventually people want to start cashing out.
The reality that is likely to hit before that is the realization that giving money away for free creates a lot of discord, jealousy, game theory, anger, etc.. That has already started and it will grow worse and worse. Guaranteed.
Remember in the beginning that free money greases the wheels and everyone is extra nice. But later the reality of human nature will come out.
If Steem was building actual vocations for people or building a sustainable happy illusion, then it would have legs.
Can Dan magically create an ecosystem from this start that gives people vocations and/or is sustainable happy illusion? My bet is that Dan only knows what Dan has always demonstrated he is good at. Which is how to combine people together into some financial scheme where you earn interest or some dividend. All of his designs have been like that.