Indeed, but @ned has been the face of Steem more than anyone else anyway. I dunno if Dan is like me with projects - sometimes you just go 'ok, this is a mess, I'm starting over again'. He'll go on to do something else new, and hopefully there is enough of a functioning governance system in Steem that this in fact will be remembered as the moment that the stops were all pulled out and the music started to really play!
I don't worry about it 'going to zero'. It's not going to go to zero. There's too much people with too much stake in it. It just may take a little attrition to clear the executive gridlock that (in my opinion) has been plaguing Steem for the last few months.
The poor implementation of 'the experiment' has caused more damage than anything else lately. I wish Dan well, and hope it doesn't discourage too many people, but it looks like he accomplished what he could with all of us unruly monkeys. I wasn't hoping for a philosopher king, and I'm happy that he has enough sense to not try to be one. Steem on! De l'audace, encore de l'audace, toujours de l'audace!