Great writeup.

Feels to be a sticky one. Of course, it's tough to state concrete answers.

Indeed, one point you've mentioned is that most investors aren't particularly concerned with a platform that rewards bloggers.

Another I've come across: the understanding/misunderstanding of Steem's inflationary nature. I've read an outright, "Steem is horseshit. Who is going to invest in an inflationary currency." While there might be more to it than just that, it could indeed be a potential factor that might turn some off - and require better explanation to validate the model against such preconceptions.

Another factor: it's quite niche. And the general types that may be attracted to it are more those interested in earning rewards blogging than investing and utilizing the token for participation with curation. Most investors with the type of funds that could drive Steem price up probably aren't too interested in learning the ins-and-outs of this niche game and setting up their curation systems to turn the investment into a passive income. And measured against other tokens that can earn greater returns faster - what, then, becomes the incentive of holding a utility token they won't utilize?

Sad to say, another factor may be reputation. Despite Dan's projects being superior technically in regards to performance, it's appeared that the projects haven't totally gotten taken seriously in some circles. It was weird meeting Joe Lubin last fall, being introduced as a top writer on Steemit to have him give me a weird look and ask, "isn't that some kind of scam?" Hopefully, as EOS takes off and gains institutional acceptance, this may shift and some attention may come back to BTS and Steem with a fresh perspective free of such prejudice.

It is kind of a weird question, actually. There are so many shitcoins that have exploded in value comparably, that have nowhere near the solidity of foundation that's been being built here. But then again, this still is a new platform, it is an experiment, and is still under development. There have been speedbumps and learning curves, and overall, the platform itself might just not be ready for scaling to the masses - and perhaps price reflects that.

It is likely, however, that in the coming years as more money and attention flows into the crypto space, a proportionate share will flow into Steem. And, the big boom could just be a matter of the right partnerships or audience. As someone (I can't remember who) wrote about recently - adoption in China with a Chinese mirror site could drastically change the situation - as potentially could even one or two major influences or key players stumbling across Steem, seeing its propsects, and giving it the right kind of publicity...