The bots accepted SBD because it became more valuable than steem..not vice versa.
SBD was Steem Backed Dollar but because the peg failed it became modified in the updated whitepaper as Steem Blockchain Dollar (smart if you ask me).
Not even @dan know why SBD skyrocketed. IT SIMPLY MAKES NO SENSE!
There is a small amount of SBD relative to Steem.
I'm not saying it was manipulated, but it wouldn't take a lot of money for a whale holding a ton of steem to bid up SBD as a way to proxy bid steem, then sell off a ton of steem.
The peg had failed in 2016 but for a long time before the August 2017 whitepaper, the peg had held. So I am disinclined to believe that was the reason for the name change but I can see how the name change modifies expectations:
STEEM Backed Dollar - a cryptocurrency whose US Dollar value is backed by STEEM.
Steem Blockchain Dollar - just another cryptocurrency whose value is determined by market forces. If this is the case then why not just discontinue SBD by converting all of them for STEEM and simplifying the dynamics of the platform for easier adoption and growth?