In fairness, there are some other factors at play.
1: The site is growing, in terms of users and tools. Linear growth in users delivers an exponential growth in network effect.
2: There is talk of advertising banners etc bought with steem, driving the price back up.
3: Whales don't want to give away SP for nothing. The price gets low enough and a lot of them will stop powering down.
4: Bitcoin whales make steemit whales look like minnows. The crypto world is pretty incestuous, and those who saw early potential in bitcoin, are equipped intellectually and financially to see the potential in steemit.