I think the poor long-term market performance of STEEM relative to BTC is because Steemit Inc overpromised and underdelivered for a couple of long years. It was terrible.

Steem is a project of many contradictions. It's got the most users and the most traffic. But its public image is very poor owing to how it got started and how many of the early 2016'ers were totally spoiled by the massive rewards. When they rage quit as their rewards naturally plummeted after the totally unsustainable once-in-a-lifetime type of lucky strike of a start, these spoiled children went on to badmouth Steem everywhere in the cryptosphere.

I think we saw STEEM bottoming out last Christmas, and if it's any consolation, the last bottom was a higher low than the one prior to that which was 7 cents in March 2017. At last, we have MIRA. We already have Steem-Engine powered tokens but Steemit Inc will now get to work making SMTs a reality at last. With MIRA and SMTs in place, development will be more app centric and the troubled early stages of Steem will hopefully be a distant memory fading away.