The use of steem outside SteemIt is wider than the mind can imagine. It can be use as a form of payment for a services rendered. And guess what? It is actually safer. Take for instance, I mow the lawn for my neighbor and instead of him paying me in normal currency, he pays me in steem, it means, I cant misplace that money, the money can't be stolen from me. It is safe on my SteemIt account, provided of course, my SteemIt password is safe.
I think I buy into the idea of the use of steem outside SteemIt.✌️