I feel Steem is special in the sense that you have more supposed "control" compared to other cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin or litecoin. In the bitcoin or litecoin market, you cannot directly influence the development of the network other than being a buyer or a seller. If you have a sizable holding, your exposure is a the mercy of the price forces.
Steem is somewhat different. In fact, superior to bitcoin/litecoin. Besides, the market buy and sell forces that influence the demand of Steem and SBD, you can directly impact the Steemit platform by simply writing original blog posts. Converting SBD to Steem or vice versa will also increase your ability to power up or down, resulting in a higher or lower payout.
Steemit gives people who are committed to the platform a better control. And control equated to less risk and higher potential payout.