The growth of new DApps and their uses have expanded the Steem ecosystem quite substantially. One of the latest ones @steemmonsters has not only increased the level of transactions on the blockchain but has also been engaging and successful in bringing value into the ecosystem. While there is a slowdown of new users, the amount of engagement has increased to the positive side.
A very important observation indeed. Thanks for the comment @newageinv, I really appreciate that :-)