Sometimes it's best to stay away from a gifting system due to bias decisions. There isn't a clear and universal guideline that can be followed to determine who's worthy and who's not, who is a good Steemian and who is a bad Steemian to receive these gifts. We've had some devious catfishes that tricked us all. And even if there was such a guideline, it would be heavily under fire from the ones that are below the bar.
There was a story about a young man who received a hefty allowance from his father (say 2,000$). While on a trip with his friends he dropped his wallet (with those money) into a campfire by accident but the boy didn't fuss too much about it as it was a big fire they built that night. He couldn't do anything to save it.
Flash forward 5 years when he gets his first job and the first salary. The paycheck was 1/4 of what his father gave him 5 years ago but he was uber-hyped about earning it.
Funnily enough, he's camping with his friends again and drops his wallet into the campfire. This time he rushed to get it with his bare hands, burns his hands a bit but saves the money.
The conclusion is that you value tenfold more what you earn than what is gifted to you.
PS. What are poloniex and bittrex doing in the TOP 50 table?
Repeated whale votes to the same authors are a little like gifting but slower. I think they need to power down and send the Steem to valued posters. That would help. but a Steem power transfer doesn't seem like it would be an issue at all.