You mentioned that you've seen many coins come can go "even coins with arguable utility", but I've been around crypto for quite a while and can not remember a coin that has immediate and unique utility that only IT can fill. Most coins have utility that can be used in the future, (Ethereum), or that have many other viable alternatives which demand far less of a learning curve (bitcoin or others). Steem is the only coin that has utility NOW which only it can fill. That's why it is so unique.