I believe that Steem has the chance to become a strong backbone in the cryptosphere because it is one of the rare cryptocurrencies that are mined by creating real value.
While Bitcoins are mined by powerful computers solving more and more complex algorithms (not a really meaningful activity for the society), most of Steem is mined by bloggers who post high-quality content that makes people more informed/inspired/enlightened/entertained (real value for the society).
Cheers! : )
I agree, BTC is essentially useless in many respects and potentially, even as a hold coin, there are much more viable options. But, humans love traditions. :)