Thank you for running this interviews. They are quite interesting to read and contribute to the understanding of the steemit sphere.

Stakeholders want the value of the token to rise while “regular users” want a revenue stream. These two goals are very difficult to reconcile and informs their opinions and thoughts on how the system should be developed.

I'm not sure I understood that correctly.
I think the difference in behaviour between the long-term investors and the regular users is always no problem if they don't all do the same thing at the same time. Since the system is permeable and some are new to it, others get out, there is something like diversity in decisions and actions. In this context, I would be interested to know whether new large holders of Steemit shares have joined, as it is now less easy than at the beginning of mining. If I have understood it correctly, it would also be advantageous for the small investor to hold, too. This of course contradicts itself to the extent that some people want to use their revenue as a source of income for their livelihoods, which "harms" rather than benefits the system.

Which begs the question: How many dropouts can Steemit tolerate in total?

If nobody would cash out, then the system would be more profitable as a whole, since the value of the individual votes would also increase as a result or if users regularly made a power up.

In this context the question arises, what is the purpose of a regular user, who is not necessarily dependent on Steemit as a source of income? It is a risk for everyone to hold and this decision is not easy if, for example, it is unclear what the big ones do. I have already heard of several users who achieved a significant return of investment, that they afforded themselves a house and property. That would not have been possible at the beginning, right? It takes a certain amount of active participants to pull something out of the pool without doing too much harm.

But of course, in giving examples what one has purchased through the system, gives hope to others.

For the time high between December '17 and January '18, I could have withdrawn a sum that was relevant to me (I had about 10,000 SBD in my account). I decided against it. I can't say whether I regret it or not because circumstances have changed and it's pointless to lament about the past. If another high came, I would again not be sure how I would behave.

Overall, there is always some kind of depression and less activity when the course is low and vice versa when its high. Without having any real knowledge about the functionality and causes, all participants somehow get a sense of the overall mood. I find this fascinating and it reflects a little the ability of humans to move in systems, even outside the cryptosphere, although one cannot separate these two worlds in such a way, since one always influences the other.