Great article: resteemed!
I agree with the most points you made.
My main conserns are: the reward system, when it comes upvoting, releasing quality articles, or whales being friends with each other and constantly being in HOT or TRENDING sections....

Also to add to this negative price move of Steem and Steem Dollars - we are in a long (in crypto time) bear market, I know many people who are so tired of those red colors in price action.... some of them sold all holdings, some people put in Tether, or still HODLing. But the whole 6 months have been painful specially for newcomers into crypto space. So this adds to the "pain" we feel in Steem and Steem Dollar prices too.