I think it's partly because many (myself included) didn't understand the role of the smart contract that is the 7 day conversion to STEEM. You and others have done posts on this to explain it so, I think, more people are taking advantage of this now and being rewarded for it. As more people understand this, I think, the price will be closer to $1. Right now, there are just so many technical details to figure out, most people aren't sure what's going on.