It is always fun to set big goals. We also have seen throughout history that those who set high marks and consistently work toward them end up achieving a great deal.
So what is the reasoning behind this title and how could this be possible?
To start, I believe that Hive, along with the rest of the cryptocurrency world, could be the greatest wealth creation mechanism we ever saw. The potential that can come out of the innovation is enormous.
Alex Mashinsky made an observation a few years ago about Ethereum's ICO.
“The Ethereum ICO made more unaccredited investors’ millionaires than any other public company”
The logic behind this was simple.
In the markets, IPOs are a great way to get wealthy. Those who invest in them are able to realize greater returns than the general public. The challenge is that those who are able to get involved are already millionaires. The IPOs do not make them wealthy, they already were there.
Ethereum provided an opportunity for the general public to get involved and become wealthy. Certainly, the bear market might have cost some that status but the point remains the same. Those who are heavily involved with Ethereum will likely do very well during the next bull run.
Of course, the ICO craze has left us. At present, the latest push within the cryptocurrency world is DeFi. This is the ability to utilize cryptocurrency to gain returns via staking of tokens and loans. Ironic that this is something that Hive (Steem) had since its inception.
Over the next 10 years, we are going to see many iterations of new innovation crazes within the blockchain and cryptocurrency world. Most will present opportunities for massive gains.
Which brings me back to Hive. Could a blockchain that is just hanging on to a top 100 ranking really generate that many millionaires? My belief, if development continues, the answer is yes.
How could this possibly happen?
I think we must understand that I am not stating that 1 million people will have $1 million worth of HIVE. It is time to start looking outside the main coin and see what else is taking place.
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For example, I was recently told about someone who is sitting on $80,000 worth of Splinterland cards. This is an individual who does not have that type of money in HIVE. At this point, the game has roughly 5,000 users. Is it unrealistic for the game to grow 10x in the next decade? A game with 50,000 users is still a very small fish in the online gaming world.
If that takes place, what happens to this $80,000 card holding? Will it 10x along with the number of players? 20x? 5X? I do not know the ratios. It is safe to say, however, that it is likely the values of the cards will move up considerably from where it is today. Naturally, it also stands to reason that this individual is not done amassing Splinterland cards.
How many other people are holding large stakes in Splinterland cards? For all I know there could be a few dozen with rather significant stakes that could position them for massive gains if the game gains in popularity.
Sticking with the idea of NFTs, there was a conversation that took place between 
@aggroed/nft-showroom-an-interview-and-teaser-for-an-upcoming-nft-art-platform-built-on-hive
Not being an artist, or even an art enthusiast, this is a bit out of my realm. That said, we cannot deny that the art world is huge. It is plausible to see many come onto a platform like that and generate a nice income for themselves. At the same time, those who do pick up the NFTs could find their holdings appreciate substantially over the next decade, especially if a few of the artists can get a large following.
Moving back into the general token realm, what opportunities exist there?
As we are aware, projects can take off at any time. It is common for early adopters who are able to amass a decent holding to profit handsomely. Let us use 3Speak as an example. The team is working hard on pushing that platform forward. At this time, there is no token associated with it, something I believe will change. If that does occur, many on Hive will have the opportunity to get in early and establish a nice position.
Vitalik Buterin commented a couple years ago that the days of 1,000x projects are gone. I think he is, for the most part, right. The industry did learn from the ICO craze that not everything pertaining to blockchain is worth going to the moon.
Yet, looking beyond the crypto world, we do see that, within the technology realm, 100x investments are quite common. Venture capitalists use the model of having to hit on 1 out of 10 projects they invest in. The reason they can have such a low success rate is simply because the one that hits usually pays off handsomely. To put it another way, they are not looking at earning a 5% or 10% return.
When we look at what is on Hive, the first thing that jumps out is there are not a lot of users on the different platforms. This has led to a low price on those projects that do have tokens. The challenge is whether this will always be the case or not? Each project is responsible for trying to increase their user base. Those that are successful, will find themselves in strong position going forward. In turn, this could mean a great deal of money to those who established large positions.
We also know that the crypto industry, as a whole, does not have a large user base when compared to the entire population. DApps are still slow to be adopted. That will change in the future I believe.
As more people are brought in, the entire space will grow. This will filter down to most valid projects that are providing user cases. Hive already has a few of them.
The key remains development. The menu of offerings on Hive is growing and this is vital. It is something that must be maintained. Some are upset that the masses are not here but the truth is, if they were, we probably could not handle them. The platform simply is not providing enough at this time.
I am old enough to remember when the average secretary at Microsoft was a millionaire. Most of the early employees ended up wealthy through the options they received along with buying the stock in the early days. By the turn of the century, the price appreciated to the point where their holdings were worth 7 figures (or more).
Could the same thing happen within the crypto industry? I believe so. Hive is a microcosm of the whole, thus I feel that it will get its share of users. As long as we keep expanding, the opportunities will be there.
I know there are many people on Hive who are consistently working on growing their holdings. Depending upon the projects, this could pay off substantially. Most are not "putting all their eggs in one basket". Instead, they are opting to get involved in different projects. This is my view of things also. However, if we consider the numbers, how many 10x do we need, couple with maybe a 50x or 100x, to be talking about some serious money.
Having a million dollars, liquid, still is a significant level. It puts anyone in an elite financial status. More importantly, it provides the opportunity to do a lot of good and help others along. This will pave the way for more people to follow.
The best part of all this is that each new project offers up the opportunity to be an early adopter. Ten years is a long time and few would call that being an overnight sensation. I believe this long term view will serve people well. Considering the fact that Hive forked only 100 days ago, we see substantial progress was made.
This is not a get rich quick scheme. Ironically, neither was the Internet although millions made a fortune off it. Blockchain and cryptocurrency hold greater potential in my opinion since the ability to participate from a financial perspective of open to the masses.
At some point, this will lead to exponential growth for the industry which will apply to many projects. Those who have a stake in those projects will benefit greatly.
The regular users of Hive could find themselves in a great position going forward. By 2030, this might grow to a million people.
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