So I think wagering $20k for the week to get $5 bonus drops are out of the question for the remainder of the year.

There was no bonus drop from Stake team after the 25th December of previous year Christmas celebration. The situation will be same this time. However, they have created a new telegram channel for the high rollers, where they will post higher bonus with pretty big weekly wager requirement. On the 27th December, they have made a bonus drop of $50 with $200k wagering requirement within last 7 days.
I think Eddie already stated that they are not going to create an exchange service ~
Yep, Eddie had said that in one of his weekly stream a long time ago.