IMHO, Steemit is at a critical juncture that will either see massive adoption or high attrition. The excitement that drives people to post, vote and comment is the financial reward (obviously). The community is great but the underlying drive has to remain or people will leave. As minnows discover they can't get more than a few cents per post without some great luck, they might drop out. Investors like myself looking to buy 10k steem start second guessing the long-term viability of the platform.

Bottom line is user growth drives increasing steem valuation. But the only way to get user growth is if new users have a chance to earn. We are near the tipping point of either greatness realized or the cliffs of doom.