The Steem blockchain is the publicly accessible distributed database, which records all posts and votes, and distributes the rewards across the network. It is where all of the text content and voting data is stored, and it is where all of the reward calculations and payouts are performed.
     On a technical level, the Steem and Bitcoin networks rely on the same model of a blockchain but are built upon different technologies and codebase. Steem is based on a new state-of-the-art blockchain technology called Graphene, which uses “witnesses” instead of “miners” to produce blocks. The “delegated proof of stake” model of using witnesses instead of miners allows for greater efficiency in block production. With BTC, 100% of the new coins that are created are allocated to block producers (miners). With the Steem blockchain, only 10% of the new coins are paid to block producers (witnesses). The other 90% of new STEEM coins are awarded to content producers, curators, and Steem Power holders.