As we start the 3rd year of Hive since the fork, it is worth while to step back and see where we stand. The entire industry changed a great deal in the last 2 years, something Hive is modeling.
With any new technology, there is a lot of experimentation. Cryptocurrency is no different. The ideas of today will be tomorrow's failures. That said, there will also be some breakthrough concepts that can be revolutionary.
When we glance at the major "segments" of cryptocurrency, we see NFTs, DeFi, and DAOs. Each have their own areas of innovation. Combined, we see an expansion that is only accelerating.
It is now appearing that Web 3.0 is before us. A few years back, the concepts were theoretical. Today, we see them unfolding before our eyes.
Hive is still overlooked and small in comparison to some other chains. However, there are aspects that could propel Hive forward.
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Sustainability
This is a word that is starting to get a lot of attention. As the failures within the industry mount, people are realizing that long-term does mean something. What is going to be around in 5 years?
We got this lesson the hard way during the ICO craze of 5 years ago. At that time, there were a ton of projects "rolling out" that were fantastic ideas. Looking back, we can see how flowed many of them were. Therefore, it is no surprise that most of the did not make it. Heck, the majority never even got started.
Sustainability begins with the idea of being around in a decade. This is rather foolish to start yet, when you think about it, how many projects have the long-term focus when getting started, especially when money is involved. Most are looking for the quick hit. This includes developers.
Once we have that, the drive to keep developing is crucial. Anything that gets stale ends up dying. Technology requires innovation and expansion since that is what others are doing. There is nothing static about this realm. It is always changing.
In blockchain we are seeing how crucial scaling is. Many found themselves highly successful. This quickly became a double-edged sword since the ability to handle the traffic was not present.
All of this factors into to the sustainability of the network.
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Community Wealth
We often discuss how important community is. Hive has a very loyal group of people who show up on a regular basis and participate. This is a foundation upon which a great deal can be build.
One of the major attributes of an ecosystem is the generation of wealth. Through the process of tokenization, each community becomes an economy. Thus, the talk is often about the Hive economy which is accurate. We can approach this like any other traditional economy, albeit operating in the digital realm.
The expansion of wealth is vital for sustainability. To start, it keeps community members engaged. If people are benefitting, especially financially, it makes their time worth while. That is not to say it is the only criteria. However, providing financial means to people is of great importance.
Hive is strong in this area due to the fact that it offers the Proof-of-Brain model. While many scoff at it, this helps to distribute tokens to individuals on a daily basis. Through the addition of Layer 2 solutions, we see people being rewarded in many different tokens. This could have a powerful impact as things expand going forward.
When we add in the newer concepts from gaming and applications, we can see how the economy is expanding. At the same time, there is Decentralized Finance (DeFi) being woven throughout.
The Lindy Effect
When looking at this systems, we see an interesting situation arise.
According to Wikipedia, the Lindy Effect is stated as follows:
The Lindy effect (also known as Lindy's Law[1]) is a theorized phenomenon by which the future life expectancy of some non-perishable things, like a technology or an idea, is proportional to their current age. Thus, the Lindy effect proposes the longer a period something has survived to exist or be used in the present, it is also likely to have a longer remaining life expectancy.
This is very encouraging while also making a lot of sense.
During the first year, a great deal of focus was spent on the infrastructure of Hive. The network became less expensive to operate while also being scaled up. This is an ongoing process to ensure the sustainability of the system.
In addition to the technological aspect of things, we also can look to the community for this same "effect". When applied to the financial, it becomes clear where expansion can come from.
The resources available to people on Hive keep growing. A lot of attention is paid to those coming in from outside the system. When markets are involved, this usually concentrates on the idea of "new money". Certainly this is valid in this realm but it also leads to the overlooking of what is already here.
As the wealth of individuals already within the ecosystem grows, we see the ability to compound that. It is not an overnight process yet does add a great deal more to the financial foundation of Hive. From here, we can see expansion as more resources are available for supporting newer projects. This is happening at every level, including the Decentralized Hive Fund.
Just think of things in these terms:
Who or what is going to be around in 10 years?
- Splinterlands?
- Leofinance?
- SpkNetwork?
- PeakD?
- Actifit?
- You?
We know Hive will be around in 10 years. The blockchain will keep going as long as the Witnesses keep running the software. Since that number keeps growing, it is safe to say there is a long path ahead of Hive.
The biggest question is will you still be around? Are you going to be part of the long-term sustainability of the Hive ecosystem?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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