Thoth transparency post for February 2026
Thoth Overview
Thoth was first described in the post, Here is a complete framework for a Generation-5 voting service..
Without repeating too much detail about the project, I think the key incentive changes that power Thoth to improve the ecosystem are these:
- Every post creates a self-contained team whose individual interests are in alignment.
- Self-votes are transformed into mutual aid.
- Authors can receive rewards for their already existing posts for as long as the blockchain keeps running.
- Delegators (sponsors) can receive rewards without a need for daily posting.
- Thoth offers a step in the direction towards Jaron Lanier's concept of data dignity - the idea that when AI derives benefits from a human's creativity, the original creator should receive a share of the benefits. (IMO, this capability of the Steem blockchain is extremely underappreciated.)
Additionally, Thoth tries to comply with the suggestions in this draft netiquette proposal for Steem automatons.
Summary for February
Here we are in the middle of February, so it's time for another Thoth transparency post.
In the last 30 days, as a result of Thoth beneficiary settings, the blockchain has distributed 425 STEEM to 129 authors, 585 STEEM to 11 delegators, and it has burned 338 STEEM. The @thoth.test account has collected 376 SP in curation rewards.
Since the project launch, the blockchain has used Thoth beneficiary settings to distribute 1,969 STEEM to 800 authors, 2,336 STEEM to 18 delegators, and it has burned 1,466 STEEM. The @thoth.test account has collected 1,671 SP in curation rewards.
Here are summary tables with estimates:
Summary of PowerBI visuals
| All time | 30 days | |
|---|---|---|
| Total beneficiary payouts (STEEM * 2 ) | 5,773 STEEM | 1,349 STEEM |
| Burned beneficiary rewards ( STEEM * 2 ) | 1,466 STEEM | 338 STEEM |
| Author beneficiary rewards ( STEEM * 2 ) | 1,969 STEEM | 425 STEEM |
| Delegator beneficiary rewards ( STEEM * 2 ) | 2,336 STEEM | 585 STEEM |
| Number of unique non-delegating author beneficiary accounts | 800 | 129 |
| Number of unique delegator beneficiary accounts | 18 | 11 |
@thoth.test info from SteemWorld
| All time / Current | 30 days / Comment | |
|---|---|---|
| Curation Rewards | 1,671 | 376 |
| Total Delegated SP | 70,638 | n/a |
| Owned SP or Non-beneficiary delegated SP | 35,893 | These accounts opted out of FAIRD beneficiary selection. |
| SP from beneficiary-eligible delegators | 70,638 | These delegators are included in FAIRD beneficiary selection. |
And here are the updated visuals
All rewards / all time
All rewards / 30 days
Non-delegating authors / all time
Non-delegating authors / 30 days
Delegators / all time
Delegators / 30 days
Details about beneficiary rewards to the top authors (by count) / all time
Details about beneficiary rewards to the top authors (by count) / 30 days
(If you're looking for accounts to follow, this is probably the slide for you.)
More details about rewards to delegators
More details about rewards to the top authors (by count)
Conclusion / Acknowledgements
Image by AI
At this point, I continue to believe that the @thoth.test account has proved the fundamental use case for Thoth, which is detailed in the diagram to the right.
Delegators have seen returns that are competitive with the previous generation of delegation bots, authors are receiving rewards after their posts primary payout windows have closed, and the bot is contributing to the ecosystem by burning rewards. All of this is intended to produce a flywheel effect that drives growth and value for the Steem blockchain.
The two key factors that would be needed to make this concept scalable are: (1.) Owned stake of the Thoth operator; and (2.) Thoth's ability to attract readers and voters (this is summarized, here).
I should also mention that as with last month, I am using the paid tier of Google Gemini for Thoth's daily runs (gemini-3-flash-preview). The API cost (for now) is about $2 per month. A Thoth instance can still be run with Gemma models form Gemini's free tier or from ArliAI, but there are noticeable quality differences.
It's also worth noting that a feature was added this month to enable Thoth to produce its daily curation reports in any of 3 languages, English, German, or Spanish. German posting was tested during the last week, and Spanish posting will be tested this week. I would appreciate feedback from people with German or Spanish language skills in order to iron out any rough edges.
Finally, I remain grateful to the delegators, authors, voters, followers and other community members who are supporting this initiative.