As with most other other models, the deployment of a piece of technology will often come with a lost in the initial stages. You must give away most of the tech for free (if you can) to support the idea. This is typically the case for leading edge ideas.

Obviously, the struggle to cover basic costs appears to have driven the price of steem down, but as with anything, the privatization of steem nodes brings business opportunities to some, which means we're going to test how well this "business" idea of steem is going to survive. This will be capitalism at its best.