In short, the network can survive without people holding too long, but it can't survive without those verifying the transactions through the process of mining. That is why I believe mining to be more beneficial than just holding. Besides when you are mining you are also holding unless you sell your profits from mining.
Someone asked a similar question to me recently, something along the lines of "why not just hold instead of mining?" Check out the comments on this post for the more detailed explanation.
In short, the network can survive without people holding too long, but it can't survive without those verifying the transactions through the process of mining. That is why I believe mining to be more beneficial than just holding. Besides when you are mining you are also holding unless you sell your profits from mining.