Well it still depends on the whales if they sell or not. The inflation only manifests itself if people are bidding down the price of STEEM.
If more people hold than sell, then inflation can be tamed. If Steem Dollar continues to give out interest, that will incentivize people to HODL. Also accumulating Steem Power can also be a long term investment.
So in my opinion, it depends on the mood of people, and how much confidence they have in STEEM, it's always about confidence.
If we grow in userbase, more money will be held than sold.