I think we can make this system simply by using a polynomial instead of an exponential function

The first peak is around 1c of influence which would occur at a $400 stake or so. Then influence flatlines until $5000 or so and starts going up expentially again.

This

1. deters Sybil attacks
2. makes people want to power up to influence things
3. should make whale downvotes very important but it enough to offset lots of $400 dollar votes

Another way might be a voting algorithm that reaches an asymptote at dolphin level. Maybe at $5000 or so. Sobvotes offer that are linear not exponential.

The key is the rewards formula. It must be tweaked.