I fully agree with your post, but wouldn't it be fair to also mention some of the other ways one could earn crypto in the broader cryptocosm (to borrow George Gilder's term)?
For example, I use the Brave browser (even right now!) where I earn BAT (basic attention token) while using it. I can cash in BAT or use it to reward content providers for their work (tipping) and other things I haven't fully explored.
You can also stake coin on some exchanges such as CryptoBridge and Crypto.com and crypto.com. You can also lend crypto, but you have to really check out those opportunities as some have turned out to be scams. As always, there are terms and limitations, but it is another way to earn crypto. No doubt there are still others I have not yet stumbled upon, but as they say - diversity of your investments can be a Good Thing.
When all is said and done, steem does offer the most fulfilling way of earning crypto because of the personal contributions you can make to it (using your brave browser, of course :).
There's a post by @shanghaipreneur on the topic of negative interest rates that better discusses the sites that I mentioned (and more!). Good reading!