And that’s exactly what gifting in 0.9 really is, an experiment. I’ve had many people report that their opinion of gifting only has changed (both ways) since playing with it in the preview events. It’s really hard to give feedback on a system you haven’t played with.
Having said that, it’s not about wanting to avoid the currency and trading elements but rather enable the discovery and hunting elements. In a magical land of gumdrops and jellybeans, if both could coexist in a system where people can trade if they want to but not need to if they don’t (and still play together), that would be pretty cool too. Not saying this is even possible or that we will ever try to do it.
We have many goals for these systems and we have to prioritize and design to hit as many as we can.