A few days ago, I came across a very interesting post discussing what Hive could look like without HBD. What surprised me even more than the proposal itself was the amount of attention and discussion the post received from the Hive community.
Honestly, that made me feel good about Hive.
There are times when I browse through posts and feel like the platform is becoming somewhat of a "ghost town." Some posts barely receive comments, and sometimes it feels like people are simply posting, curating, and moving on with their day.
But then a topic like this appears, and suddenly people start sharing long comments, different perspectives, technical explanations, disagreements, and alternative ideas.
For me, that's actually a very positive sign.
It shows that people still genuinely care about what happens to Hive. Maybe we simply need more topics that encourage deeper conversations. When something directly affects the future of the blockchain, people show up.
And now, let me share my thoughts about HBD itself.
Personally, I think HBD is one of the best stablecoins that exists in crypto.
What makes it special to me is its decentralized nature. Unlike popular stablecoins such as USDT that depend heavily on traditional financial systems and fiat reserves, HBD exists within the Hive blockchain economy.
For me, that's probably its strongest selling point.
If decentralization is one of the reasons crypto exists in the first place, then having a decentralized stablecoin makes a lot of sense.
There's also another aspect of HBD that I've always found fascinating: HBD Savings.
It almost feels like having a decentralized savings account where your money can generate interest.
The interest rate used to be 20%, then it was lowered to 15%, and now it's around 10%. Of course, that's significantly lower than before, but I still think 10% is an attractive rate.
From a marketing perspective, I believe this is one of the strongest things Hive can offer.
Imagine explaining Hive to someone outside the ecosystem:
You have a decentralized social blockchain, a stablecoin, and a savings system that can generate interest.
That's actually quite an interesting combination.
Ironically, despite everything I like about HBD, I've never really focused on investing in it.
Maybe it's because of the type of Hive user I became.
I'm more of a creator and social participant.
I like blogging, engaging with people, curating content, and gradually building my Hivepower. I don't really want to participate in Hive purely as a passive investor who deposits funds into HBD Savings and waits for the interest.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with that strategy. In fact, looking back, putting money into HBD Savings might have been one of the smarter financial decisions I could have made.
Let the money work for you, right? LOL.
But that simply wasn't the path I chose.
I preferred Hive and Hivepower because they allow me to actively participate in the ecosystem. Hive Power gives me influence through curation while also allowing me to support creators and take part in the social economy of Hive.
For me, participation matters just as much as investment.
Because I don't personally hold a significant amount of HBD, it would be very easy for me to say:
"Let's remove HBD and just focus everything on HIVE and Hivepower."
But I don't think it's that simple.
Removing HBD could also mean removing something with enormous future potential.
We're talking about price stability, savings, payments, commerce, financial applications, and potentially a much broader decentralized economy built around a stable medium of exchange.
HIVE and Hivepower are excellent for participation, ownership, governance, and growth.
But HBD serves a different purpose.
Maybe the better question isn't whether HBD should disappear, but how we can make its economics sustainable while expanding its usefulness.
Whatever direction Hive eventually takes, I'm glad we're having these discussions.
A community debating its future is certainly better than a community that no longer cares about it.
And judging by the conversations happening around HBD right now, I think Hive is still very much alive.
