I believe that most of the STEEM I give away, for now, is going into the strong hands of people that believe in this place

This is one of the things I love about Splinterlands.
When someone beats me and earns DEC, (an uncomfortably common occurrence) they're far more likely to reinvest that DEC on potions, orbs, cards on the market, etc; than to send it out to Steem-engine, sell for STEEMP, withdraw the STEEM and sell it on the market.
Gamers instinctively love re-investing in assets; and the longer the game is around and successful, and the higher the marketcap (we just passed $3 million) the more confidence they'll have in the value of those assets.