Not 100% sure about mass recruitment at this point. The entire cryptoverse seems to be waiting for a fast and low transaction fee chain to skim Proof of Work Coins across due to their, yet to be solved, scalability issues.
The corporate patented Lighting Network would bring on the bulls if and when it gets off of testnet and into production. That has been almost as ellusive as SMTs. My gut is saying it will not be a user friendly experience should they make it to production without the need of mass centralization; which may have been the plan at Bitcoin Core to begin with.
In my wet dreams steem is the open sourced Lighrning Network and no one trusts the over governance of EOS (witnesses able to agree to suspend transactions like a credit card company) to entrust it with their serious transactions. Still good for buying Amazon Gift Cards, however.
The orphaned POCKET Project has allowed me a peak into how SMTs may be and more confidence in the Steem Network as a viable paynent method to be, somehow, employed by POW crowd.
Two things seem required for the longlivity of the steem blockchain, in my opinion.
That steemit, busy, et all, be seen as wonderful dApps on the steem blockchain and not the full and only potential of the steem blockchain. This would go a long way to reducing FUD and other sky/price is falling posts.
STINC delivering on the rocksDB module. Let's not wait like we have for SMTs. If no test releases are out there by Febuary then let's get some delegating/donating/witness voting campaign going so that @blockbrothers can do the job.
STEEM On! ✌💛