I really didn't want to write this post.

I had been planning to support both chains but the recent censorship actions taken by @steemit inc and @justinsunsteemit have only made the future direction of Steem more obvious, and depressing.

Censorship resistance has been one of the main qualities I've been promoting the Steem blockchain since I got here. SteemLeaks, one of my very first projects here archived leaked data on chain and also funded wikileaks with thousands of dollars of btc. I've invited controversial censored authors here, and published my own research on topics like pizzagate before it was cool .

Whilst technically the recent censorship by @justinsunsteemit was at the UI level, it feels like it's only a matter of time before Justin's puppets regain full control and completely centralize the network. Once that happens, they will be free to push whatever changes they like at any time, with no public debate or oversight.

Justin and Steemit have shown repeatedly they can't be trusted. They won't negotiate, they just take what they want with no regards for the consequences. For weeks now Justin and his representatives have demonstrated a complete lack of system knowledge, ethics and integrity.

Watching an outsider come in and build an extra blacklist layer that can be live updated by China was the final straw for me.

I've tried to be as transparent as possible as a concensus witnesses of Steem, I shared all "negotiations" publicly in order to expose the corruption and two-faced nature of our new overlords. I've genuinely tried to make this work, as have many others, but its clearer then ever that Tron/Steemit and I share wildly different visions for the network.

So ..

It's with a heavy heart that I say goodbye to the Steem blockchain.

Steem has been my home since July 2016.

The friendships and connections I've made here have changed my life.

I will never forget Steem, but at this point it's an abusive relationship that needs to end.

Thankfully, we all have a safe haven we can escape to with HIVE .

Hive is a chance for us to recreate Steem how it was always meant to be, without Steemit Inc and their ninjamine looming over us like a threat for years.

Hive already has far more developers and graphene blockchain experience then what's left in the remaining empty shell of Steemit Inc.

Hive represents a new renaissance for our community, freedom from censorship and oligarchs, and the opportunity to decide our own future without unwanted interference.

Lets make the tools the world needs. Free flow of both information and value around the world is critical to a healthy society and in its current state Steem is incapable of filling this need.

Please read this post if you haven't already. It was censored by Steemit/Justin on Steemit already, only proving my point further - https://steempeak.com/communityfork/@hiveio/announcing-the-launch-of-hive-blockchain

What will happen to my Steem witness and services ?

For the immediate future, I will continue to produce blocks on both networks. It's only a matter of time before Justin's sockpuppets overtake me, in the last few hours I've already moved from rank 4 to rank 11.

I plan to keep my Steem witness running for the next 3 months to give Steemians a chance to power down. If I get kicked out of consensus beforehand, I'll shut it down sooner. I'm still trying to stop a hostile hardfork going through that crashes the network, or gives Justin an even bigger advantage with instant powerdowns (or downvote removal etc).

I will fight those changes whilst I have any ability left to do so.

• I will be powering down my Steem stake, and moving it to Hive.
• TeamAustralia/Centerlink will do the same
• SonicGrooveLive hopes to do the same, but requires the tribe infrastructure to move first (or to leave the tribe)
• SteemViz tools, hivemind/tower api and domain will be decommissioned and eventually move to hive equivalents
• MinnowSupport is yet to reach concensus with the mods and make a statement

I will be selling a lot of my other Steem domains (DM me for a list if interested) and buying up hive replacements. I'm struggling to get inspired with a new "hive" branding so far, so initial tools will probably live on ausbit.dev for now.

This transition is rushed, things will probably break at first, but I promise it will be worth the effort.
I will remain in the PAL/MSP discord as usual, anyone can always DM me for more info

Steem is dead, long live Hive :)