Regardless of what happened, I think one of the most important things will be getting SMTs online.

I'm not so sure. I agree SMTs have been advertised as a flagship project however I don't believe it has gained much traction outside of the Steem/ Steemit bubble. I think SMTs matter most to the handful of projects that are committed to leveraging them when they get here.

I guess the expectation is that things will ramp up when SMTs arrives. I suspect even if SMTs are successful they will be a slow burn as people get to grips with how they can best be utilised.