I think Steem has no chance of thriving as an independent chain now. Here's what will happen:

• There will be a token swap. Anyone can opt in to swapping their STEEM for a corresponding token on the Tron blockchain
• Those who won't swap their STEEM/SP/SBD will find themselves on a chain whose witnesses are all puppets of Justin Sun regardless of how many agree to the swap. This results from the size of Stinc's current stake.
• The original chain will be driven to the ground. Core blockchain development will stop. It will be delisted from all exchanges. The monetary value of STEEM will plummet to a near-zero level due to zero liquidity. The chain will continue to run but but it will be effectively demonetized.

The Steem copy on Tron will continue to run without some of the most Justin Sun hating individuals who'd rather see the value of their stake go to zero than bend to the will of Justin Sun.

But a copy of Steem based on a snapshot of Steem from before the swap but with Stinc's stake cut out will go live at some point in the future. It will be nearly worthless monetarily due to not having its native token STC (Steem Classic) or whatever being traded on any exchange. If you want to know what a platform like that looks like, go and check out Golos, for example. Remember Whaleshares?

If you want continue to earn anything and benefit from the new bull market, you must go to Tron.

If a way to buy into Steem Classic is established, I will probably buy some more because at sub-1 cent or sub-0.1 cent levels becoming a whale will be quite easy. If that chain ever gets listed or if the crypto space stops being dependent on access to centralized exchanges, Steem Classic might gain a lot of value.