honestly i don't think there is a quick path back to being a top 10 token. steem is on a downward slump for a while now, why would it gain value back up to the $1+ zone in the short term?

if steem is going to return to the top 1k sites in the world, I think it'll be more thanks to the social aspects of the site than the financial ones. it's hard to convince people to join for the money when "the money" is mostly a few bucks here and there.

but the community is cool -- and the steem token's financial value is useful socially. When I upvote your post for one cent, it's not a big deal, but it says "thank you" a little more than if it has no money attached. over millions of interactions, the steem token can make this community's social ties stronger than the communities on other sites.