The Skeptics employ a kind of circular logic when they argue for Bitcoin and Ethereum while calling almost everything else a pump-and-dump scam.
I can remember a time when ethereum was considered vaporware because it took them so long to launch after the crowdsale. The same circular logic FUD was spread and its "sole purpose" was to make its devs rich.
Then it did come out, dApps were created, and it shot up to $20 a coin. Silenced many critics.
Skeptics come and go, and as you said, the free market will decide. Steem will keep doing its thing, and hopefully give some folks more things to consider. People like to oversimplify and fear what they don't understand completely at first.
Totally agree, people tend to fear something that is unfamiliar to them. Instead of doing some research about how things work, they tend to criticize it first. Anyway, as @dan said, "ultimately the market will decide." if this will be a pump and dump system