I think it dangerous to paint the whales as you do.  In fact, I dont think what you say applies even to the majority of them.  Do they want to profit handsomely off STEEM?  Sure....but dont all of us.  That said, I believe many of them want to do so through the appreciation of their tokens.  It doesnt take to much to figure out where guys like @transisto and @fulltimegeek will end up with a price of steem at $50 or $100.  Suddenly their holdings are similar to that of professional athletes....certainly rarefied air.  So I ask you, do you think they put more importance on $100 STEEM which will give them $40M or $50M or making scalping $75 off an article posted?  If it is the later, both of them better get writing since it is going to take more than a million articles to get there.