I Came for a Cryptocurrency. I Stayed for the People.

Dedicated to everyone who has been part of my journey over the past ten years.

This story belongs to all of us.

It is not the story of everything I have done on Steem.

It is the story of the moments that changed me.

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Looking back, I thought I was investing in a cryptocurrency. I never imagined I was investing in ten years of my life.

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Part One – A Coin That Changed My Life

Have you ever made a decision that seemed completely ordinary at the time...

...only to realize years later that it changed your life?

That is exactly what happened to me on July 13, 2016.

Back then, I wasn't looking for a social platform.

I wasn't looking for a community.

I wasn't even looking for a place to write.

I was simply following the cryptocurrency market, searching for interesting investment opportunities.

One coin kept catching my attention.

STEEM.

Its price had climbed rapidly to around 3–4 USD, and naturally I wanted to understand why.

So I started reading about the project behind the coin.

The more I read...

the more curious I became.

This wasn't just another cryptocurrency.

It was something completely different.

A blockchain where people could publish their ideas, photographs, artwork, stories, and knowledge...

...and actually be rewarded for doing so.

The idea fascinated me.

So, on July 13, 2016, I created my Steem account.

Looking back today, I realize I thought I was making a financial investment.

I wasn't.

Without realizing it, I had found a place where I truly belonged.

At that moment, I had absolutely no idea where this journey would take me.

I couldn't imagine the friendships I would make...

the communities we would build...

the contests...

the projects...

the challenges...

or the memories that would become part of my life.

Sometimes life changes because of one simple decision.

Mine began with a cryptocurrency called STEEM.

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Finding My Place

When I joined Steem, I came as an investor.

Not as a writer.

During my first months, I spent far more time reading than writing.

I explored the platform.

I discovered talented authors.

I left comments on posts I enjoyed.

I learned how curation worked.

But the most important thing I discovered wasn't the blockchain.

It was the people.

Behind every username was someone with a story to tell.

Someone sharing photographs.

Art.

Knowledge.

Life experiences.

Looking back today, I think those first months quietly changed me.

I stopped thinking only about investments.

I started thinking about people.

Without even realizing it, I had found something I didn't know I was looking for.

A community.

Every day, I found myself looking forward to opening Steem.

Not to check the price of STEEM...

but to discover new people, new ideas, and new creativity.

That surprised me.

Because it wasn't why I had joined.

Yet it slowly became the reason I stayed.

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Part Two – From Reading to Giving

The longer I stayed on Steem, the less I thought about the price of STEEM.

Instead, I found myself looking forward to something much simpler.

Opening Steem each morning to see what people had created while I was asleep.

Every day I discovered talented photographers, artists, writers, and creators from countries I had never visited.

Some had years of experience.

Others were publishing their very first post.

One thing quickly became clear to me.

There was so much good content that deserved more attention.

Without really planning it, I started leaving more comments.

Voting more often.

Trying to encourage people whenever I could.

Looking back today, I think that was the moment my journey truly began to change.

I had arrived as an investor.

Slowly...

I was becoming part of the community.

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One evening in 2017, just before going to bed, I had a simple idea.

I published a post with one question.

"Who do you really think deserves a 100% upvote from me before I go to sleep tonight?"

It wasn't really about giving away an upvote.

It was about giving the community an opportunity to recognize someone else.

Looking back now, I smile when I think about it.

I thought I was giving away an upvote.

In reality, the community was introducing me to people I might never have discovered on my own.

One simple question became the beginning of countless contests, friendships, and unforgettable memories.

That simple idea became the beginning of something much bigger.

As time passed, one contest became another.

Photography.

Writing.

Art.

Creativity.

Or simply having fun together.

One of the most memorable was The Sound of Steem.

Participants listened to a mystery sound and tried to guess what they were hearing.

It was different.

It was fun.

Most importantly...

It made people smile.

Another project that means a great deal to me when I look back is XPilarContest, created together with my good friend @sultan-aceh.

It brought together photographers from around the world and reminded me that creativity has a wonderful way of connecting people, no matter where they live.

One photography contest became the beginning of something much bigger.

Over the years, I organized countless contests.

To be honest...

I have no idea how many.

Some offered generous prizes.

Some were very simple.

Some lasted for weeks.

Others appeared almost overnight because an idea suddenly came to me.

Today, I don't remember every contest.

I remember the people.

The excitement in the comments.

The photographs.

The artwork.

The stories.

The feeling that, for a little while, we had created something that people genuinely enjoyed being part of.

Looking back today, I finally understand why I enjoyed organizing them so much.

The contests were never really about prizes.

They were about giving people an opportunity.

An opportunity to be noticed.

An opportunity to share their creativity.

An opportunity to believe that what they created mattered.

Helping other people succeed has always given me far more satisfaction than any reward I could receive myself.

Looking back now...

I think everything else simply grew from that.

Part Three – Building a Home

Looking back today, I can see that every contest, every conversation, and every new friendship was quietly leading me toward the next chapter of my journey.

On June 7, 2020, that next chapter became World of Xpilar.

I didn't create it because Steem needed another community.

I created it because I believed people needed a place where creativity came first.

A place where photographers...

artists...

writers...

musicians...

and creators from every corner of the world could meet, inspire one another, and feel welcome.

My dream was never to build the biggest community.

My dream was simply to build one that people enjoyed coming back to.

I never wanted to build the biggest community. I simply wanted to create one where people enjoyed coming back.

Looking back today, I realize something very important.

No community is ever built by one person.

Communities grow because people choose to care.

People who welcome newcomers.

People who answer questions.

People who encourage others.

People who quietly work behind the scenes every single day.

I have been incredibly fortunate to have exactly those people beside me.

To my wonderful moderators...

@stef1

@adeljos

@axeman

@mister-omortson

@o1eh

@sultan-aceh

@bambuka

@petface

@hardphotographer

@franyeligonzalez

@kafio

Thank you.

World of Xpilar would never have become what it is today without your friendship, your dedication, and your countless hours of work.

Everything we achieved...

we achieved together.

Today, World of Xpilar continues to welcome creators from all over the world.

Seeing the community remain active after all these years gives me just as much satisfaction as watching it grow in the beginning.

What makes me happiest isn't the number of subscribers.

It is seeing people from different countries encouraging one another every single day.

That is something no statistic can truly measure.

Helping someone with one simple answer can sometimes be more valuable than writing another post.

As the community continued to grow, we realized that many new users simply didn't know where to ask questions.

That inspired us to create the Talk Channel.

A place where anyone could ask about Steem.

No question was too simple.

No question was unwelcome.

Whether someone needed help understanding keys...

wallets...

communities...

posting...

or simply wanted advice...

there was always someone willing to help.

That, to me, is what a community should be.

Not only a place where people publish.

A place where people help each other grow.

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Part Four – Choosing to Stay

No journey lasts ten years without difficult moments.

Mine certainly didn't.

When I look back today, I naturally remember the contests, the friendships and the projects.

But I also remember the days when Steem felt uncertain.

The most difficult chapter came with the split between Steem and Hive.

Almost overnight, familiar names disappeared from my feed.

People I had spoken with for years.

Friends.

Communities.

Some chose to continue their journey elsewhere.

I respected that.

Everyone had to make their own decision.

I had to make mine.

There were days when I seriously asked myself whether I should continue.

Not because I had stopped believing in Steem.

But because I had grown tired of the conflicts.

The discussions.

The misunderstandings.

Looking back today, I don't remember every disagreement.

I remember how it felt.

And there were moments when I came very close to leaving.

Then something always happened.

Someone thanked me for a contest.

A new member joined World of Xpilar.

Someone I had helped months earlier returned simply to say thank you.

A new idea appeared.

Those small moments reminded me why I had joined Steem in the first place.

Not because of the blockchain.

Because of the people.

So I stayed.

Not because it was the easiest decision.

Because it felt like the right one.

Looking back today, I have never regretted that choice.

Steem has given me far more than I could ever measure in cryptocurrency.

It has given me friendships.

Experiences.

Opportunities.

And memories that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

Every difficult chapter eventually comes to an end.

What matters is what we choose to build afterwards.

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Part Five – Still Building

People sometimes ask me where all these ideas come from.

The honest answer is...

I don't really know.

Perhaps spending ten years in a creative community simply makes ideas appear.

One idea leads to another.

And before you know it...

you're working on something new again.

Over the years, I have been fortunate to contribute to Steem in several different ways.

One of them has been serving as a witness.

Being trusted as a witness has always felt like a responsibility, never an achievement.

Becoming a Top 20 witness was never something I imagined back in 2016.

The trust the community has placed in me over the years has always meant far more than any ranking.

To me, being a witness has never been about recognition.

It has always been about responsibility.

Supporting the blockchain.

Being available.

And giving something back to the community that has given me so much.

Not every project was about contests or games.

Some ideas came from a different place.

A desire to help.

Life doesn't always go as planned.

Sometimes members of our community experience illness, accidents, financial hardship, or other difficult situations.

That is why we created WOX Help Fund.

Its purpose was simple.

To remind people that a community is at its best when people care for one another.

Together, thanks to the generosity of many supporters, WOX Help Fund has donated more than 21,205 STEEM to people in need.

That number makes me proud.

Not because of the amount itself.

But because it represents people who chose to help other people.

Every donation reminded me that compassion still has a place on the blockchain.

Together, our community has donated more than 21,205 STEEM to people in need.

Another project that has brought me a great deal of joy is Steem-Bingo.

It began with a simple idea.

Could we create something that was entertaining, rewarding, and gave people another reason to visit Steem every day?

Ideas are easy.

Turning ideas into reality is much harder.

That is why I owe a special thank you to my good friend @blaze.apps.

Many of the ideas were mine.

Turning those ideas into working software was his talent.

Steem-Bingo is the result of teamwork, and I will always be grateful for everything he has contributed.

A simple idea that grew into hundreds of rounds, thousands of tickets, and a wonderful community of players.

Even after ten years, I still find myself thinking about what could come next.

One of those ideas is Steem4Poker.

At the time of writing, it is still under development.

There is still work to do before it becomes reality.

Will it become a success?

Only time can answer that question.

But success has never been only about launching a project.

For me, it has always been about creating something that brings people together.

If Steem4Poker becomes another place where people meet, have fun, and discover Steem...

then all the work will have been worthwhile.

Ten years later... I still wake up with new ideas.

Part Six – Looking Back... and Looking Forward

As I have been writing this story, I have found myself smiling more than once.

Not because I was remembering achievements.

But because I was remembering people.

The conversations.

The contests.

The friendships.

The moments that no statistics could ever capture.

Those are the memories that stayed with me.

When I created my Steem account on July 13, 2016, I never imagined that I would still be here ten years later.

If someone had told me back then that I would one day become a witness, build a community, organize contests, develop projects, and meet friends from all over the world...

I probably would have smiled and said,

"I think you're talking about someone else."

Life has a funny way of surprising us.

Looking back today, I realize something else.

None of this happened because of me alone.

Every project became possible because other people believed in it too.

That is why this anniversary is not only about me.

It is about everyone who has shared this journey with me.

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To my moderators...

Thank you for your friendship.

Thank you for your loyalty.

Thank you for giving your time so generously over the years.

World of Xpilar became what it is today because we built it together.

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A special thank you to my good friend @blaze.apps.

Many people know Steem-Bingo.

What they may not know is how many conversations, ideas, and improvements happened behind the scenes before it became reality.

Ideas are easy.

Turning ideas into working software takes talent, patience, and dedication.

Thank you for making so many of those ideas possible.

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Thank you to @steemchiller for creating SteemWorld.

I honestly cannot imagine using Steem without it.

It has become one of the most valuable tools our blockchain has ever had, making it easier to manage accounts, follow rewards, monitor transfers, and keep track of everything happening on Steem.

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Thank you to @justyy.

Over many years, you have created tools and services that have helped countless people across the Steem ecosystem.

Much of your work happens quietly behind the scenes, but it has made a real difference.

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A special thank you to @kiwiscanfly for continuing SPUD4STEEM on the Steem blockchain after the Hive split.

I was proud to support the initiative because I believed in its purpose: encouraging people to power up and strengthen Steem.

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I would also like to thank every developer who continues to build games, applications, tools, and services for Steem.

The future of any blockchain depends on people who continue creating.

Thank you for everything you do.

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And finally...

Thank you to everyone who has ever participated in one of my contests.

Every author.

Every photographer.

Every artist.

Every writer.

Every curator.

Every commenter.

Every friend I have met over these ten years.

Whether you realize it or not...

You became part of my story.

If I have forgotten to mention someone by name, please forgive me.

Ten years is a long time.

I have been fortunate to meet so many wonderful people that it would be impossible to remember everyone.

But I will always remember the kindness.

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Epilogue

Ten years ago...

I thought I was investing in a cryptocurrency.

Looking back today...

I realize I invested in something far more valuable.

Friendships.

Experiences.

Memories.

A community.

People sometimes ask me what I consider my greatest achievement on Steem.

The answer has changed over the years.

Today my answer is simple.

It was never a project.

It was never a position.

It was never a number.

The greatest reward has been the privilege of meeting so many wonderful people along the way.

That is something no blockchain can measure.

If people remember me after reading this story, I hope it is not because of the projects I started...

or the contests I organized...

or the positions I held.

I simply hope they remember me as someone who tried to make Steem a little better for others.

Nothing more.

Nothing less.

The story is not over.

Steem4Poker is still under development.

New ideas continue to appear.

And every morning...

I still enjoy opening Steem to see what the community has created while I was asleep.

That feeling has never disappeared.

Perhaps it never will.

Thank you...

for your friendship...

for your encouragement...

for your support...

and for being part of my first ten years on Steem.

I hope we will write many more chapters together.

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July 13, 2016 — July 13, 2026

I came to Steem because of a cryptocurrency.

I stayed because of the people.

Thank you, Steem.

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