I am one of those "old guard" BTC investors, since 2011. I was interviewed about that journey in detail here: https://www.choosefi.com/072-should-i-buy-bitcoin-myles-wakeham/.

The reality is that if a blockchain/crypto project solves a "hair on fire" problem, it will last. The question is what society deems as a problem to be solved. If we are in a zombie like state where the banksters have hypnotized society to believe that giving up their claim of wealth to another party is wise, then the adoption of crypto-currencies will be slow. However the fact is that it is almost 10 years since the Bitcoin experiment was unveiled and it has made many of us very wealthy. But I never bought into it for that reason - that was a side effect. I see it as a way to remove the bankster controlled 3rd parties in the value of supply & demand.

For example, I like great coffee. I can buy beans from growers in Mexico and cut out the middle man. They get to keep the money I send them. That motivates them to keep growing better beans. If anyone stifles that process, I get lower grade coffee and they may close up shop. Crypto currencies enable a direct peer to peer transaction to take place. This is critical. This is the "killer app" that is out there. Yet until we the people realize that this is empowering to both buyer & seller, we lose sight of the point. That happened in 2017. That is why I sold at the high in the market. In retrospect, best decision I ever made. But I never gave up hope for the true money ownership by real people and not some bankster.

Steem gives us the motivation to create content and express ourselves. No centralized party censors that. It is critical for free speech. It solves a "hair on fire" problem. Just ask people like Alex Jones. The fact that the Silicon Valley cartel of technology companies work as a unified force to squash free speech is evidence enough that this is where we need to be able to express our opinions - regardless of whether all agree or disagree. A mature discussion is best handled on a platform of transparency, and to be financially rewarded for using that platform seems a no-brainer to me.

There are other "hair on fire" solutions out there, but the efficacy of them has to be measured not in the financial growth of investors, but in the real world problems being solved. I'm extremely hopeful of the future and engaged where I can to decentralize the world and make us all more empowered.