Resource credits seem pretty mystical, especially when you are first starting out and can't seem to interact with the Blockchain without a lot of confusing error messages popping up from your browser extension!
Essentially, resource credits are what the Hive Blockchain use to prevent server overload and simultaneously promote community interaction.
So knowing the basics, how do I get resource credits so that I can actually play Splinterlands, or upvote someone's blog?
Thankfully, obtaining and using resource credits is fairly simple! All you have to do is Power Up your liquid Hive balance and you'll gain some resource credits which regenerate every 5 days!
Here is some more information about what all of this means in the form of Frequently Asked Questions.
Hive Resource Credits Frequently Asked Questions:
1. What are resource credits?
Resource credits are what is used to power Hive Blockchain interactions. Think of it this way, when you interact with (store data) the blockchain, you are using up physical resources (server, internet, maintenance) to make this interaction. These physical resources cost Hive physical currency to upkeep and manage, therefore if it costs Hive then they also want to see some sort of payment from you.
Hive happens to really believe in community development, collaboration, and interaction, and therefore allow us to pay them back for using their resources in the form of Resource Credits!
2. How do I obtain resource credits?
Resource credits are created based on an algorithm (mathematic equation formula) and the amount of Powered Up liquid Hive you currently have. Unlike a balance, resource credits are a regenerative system with an upper limit which increases based on the amount of Powered Up liquid Hive you own. Every 5 days, whether you have used them or not, your resource credits are recalculated and refill, so don't feel like you need to save them up!
3. What are resource credits used for?
Resource credits are used for every store operation interaction with the Hive Blockchain. This means if you are going to use the Blockchain to store a new transaction, or comment, or upvote, you need to pay some resource credits for the interaction.
The amount of resource credits required for the store operation is based on another algorithm whose key factors are these: size of data to store, and current server load strain. The size of data to store means the amount of bytes (or characters essentially) that are going to be added to the Blockchain. The current server load strain means how many other interactions are happening on the server at the same time and how many server resources are currently being used. You probably won't know the exact amounts for how much data will be stored, and you likely won't know how many server resources are currently being used. Hive offers developers a solution to this however, and allows developers to use formulas and APIs to determine the resource credit cost of an interaction you are about to make!
Depending on where you are trying to interact with the Blockchain from, the developer of such Hive.IO application may have provided a method for you to see the Resource Credit cost of interactions you are about to make. If not, you may need to guess and check, or you can dive into the developer resources and create a plug-in or standalone application of your own to determine Resource Credit costs! If it doesn't exist already, such application may be a great way to snag some liquid Hive funding from the Decentralized Hive Fund!
4. How do I obtain liquid Hive to Power Up?
You can purchase Hive coin from the market just like any other cyptocurrency! This is probably the easiest way to obtain your first bit of liquid Hive. Afterwards, you can obtain more from claiming from the rewards pool, through gifts from other accounts, or through direct funding from the Decentralized Hive Fund!
4A. What is the rewards pool and what does it mean to claim from it?
The rewards pool is how content developers can receive actual currency directly from the content they produce on the Hive ecosystem! When content is added to the blockchain, the first 7 days of interactions (and mainly upvotes) "rank up" the content. Afterwards, based on content ranks and available funds there is a lottery which distributes the available rewards pool for that time period to the ranked content. If your content performed well in those 7 days, chances are that you will receive some liquid Hive from the rewards pool that you can claim to your account!
4B. Can I receive Hive coin as a gift from other accounts or people?
Yes! If someone appreciates your content or just appreciates you they can gift you some of the Hive currency directly, and fee free! In fact, there is an awesome application on the Hive network called pizza bot whose only job is to give away slice of pizza (in the form of Hive coin) to awesome accounts and content!
4C. Can the project I want to create on the Hive network receive funding?
Absolutely! Hive is built all around collaboration and creation, and they have a whole section called the Decentralized Hive Fund whose sole purpose is to promote the works of others! 10% of new Hive coin goes directly into the Decentralized Hive Fund (DHF), and from there it is distributed to developers, accounts, and content creators who are trying to create value for the community!
If you have a great idea and want to start development for a project on the Hive network and blockchain, then you can create a proposal to the DHF and if your idea is greenlighted then you can receive some Hive coin funding for your project!
5. What is Powering Up Hive coin and how do I Power Up my Hive coin?
Powering Up Hive coin means that you are taking the Hive cyptocurrency from its transitory or trading state and switching it into a stationary or holding state. Basically, you are telling Hive that you have faith in the organization and you want your Hive coin to be held internally instead of trading externally.
When you power up your liquid Hive you lock it in and it cannot be unpowered for about 2 weeks in sets. However, powered up liquid Hive gives you benefits! For one, you receive dividends (currently about 2-3% APY) for powered up liquid Hive. Additionally, your powered up liquid Hive gains you resource credits that can be used for interactions with the Blockchain! Finally, powering up your liquid Hive is the best way of showing faith and confidence in the Hive community and promoting its longevity!
6. What happens when I run out of resource credits?
Once you use up all of your resource credits, you cannot make more storage interactions with the blockchain until your resource credits recalculate and regenerate (every 5 days). If you notice that you are using up your resource credits faster than you want to, you can try reducing your storage data amounts, finding other times to make interactions that may not have as much simultaneous server usage/high server load, or you can Power Up more liquid Hive so that you have more available Resource Credits to utilize!
Hopefully this article provided some useful information about Hive and Resource Credits! Thank you for reading the blog and for engaging with the community! Being a part of Hive is a great way to bring people from all around together in a positive social community, to gain value and knowledge from each other, on a platform that promotes collaboration and decensorship! Being a member of the Hive blockchain lets you add value to the internet that you can rest assured is yours, and yours forever, and that can be shared to others who will appreciate and cherish it!
