Sometimes there are advantages that must be talked about. Regular readers will not be surprised what is contained in this article. However, I decided to put this all together to provide a piece that can be utilized to clearly show the difference between Hive and most of what is out there.
If we are going to discussed Web3, then it is best to look at what can truly offer if. People are starting to grab onto the idea of SoFi (SocialFi) or whatever the phrase of the week is. Long time followers know we have talked about the merging of social media and finance for a couple years now.
Once again, the masses are late to the game. The insight was already latched onto. Nevertheless, much of what we see is not decentralized. Most are simply remaking the wheel instead of truly creating something revolutionary that changes everything.
This is what I see Hive attempting to do.
Therefore, without further delay, let's get into the 3 Reasons Why Hive Is Different From Other Blockchains.
This cannot be emphasized enough.
When we look at the global population, what is the first thing that stands out? They have no money. People around the world are broke. This is true for the developed as well as the developing nations.
Therefore, to construct a financial system based upon the premise that people have to buy their way in, what percentage of the global population are we dealing with?
This is the case for most of the blockchains. If you want the governance coin, one either buys it or engages in some form of mining. Both of these are out of reach for the average individual. When we look at much if South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia, we see how dire the situation is economically.
To try and reimagine another system that depends upon the same pay-to-play model as we presently operate under, why does anyone think there will be different results?
With Hive, we do have a change. Instead of just buying in, people have the ability to get rewarded in the coin. This means that acquisition can come through activity. Here is what separates Hive apart from anything else.
The second factor is the Hive Backed Dollar (HBD). This is an algorithmic stablecoin that is resident at the base layer. We are not dealing with a 3rd party or any centralized entity.
With HBD, there is a native medium of exchange for every application (and game) to access. This immediately incorporates the account management along with wallet system that is present on-chain.
When a company (or foundation) puts out a stablecoin, others have to incorporate it into what they are building. This means those entities have to get use from outside.
HBD is different. It is all part of the same ecosystem. Developers who are on Hive have the incentive to utilize and integrate HBD into the payments simply because it is native to the code they are already using. There is no addition work required to bring this feature to the app.
Also, as things expand, more users will have HBD in their wallets. We already see real world payments taking place. We can expect this to spread.
People can easy swap HIVE for HBD through the Internal Exchange that exists on the blockchain. This is a feeless service that is open to all.
Cost is unavoidable.
There is now way to get around the central fact that infrastructure costs money. It doesn't matter whether one is looking at Bitcoin or Facebook, each have expenses related to running the equipment. Without this, there are no applications as software is without a place to run.
The only question is how are these costs covered and what is the entity behind those recovering them. With cryptocurrency mining, we see how it is paid through inflation of the coin. With a company like Meta, it is through the selling of the data.
Either way, there is some way to recoup cost.
In addition to block production, most blockchains have transaction fees. This is common in the financial world, something the early networks were modeled after. However, if we are entering SoFi, there is a major issue.
People do not pay transaction fees to engage in social media activities. Here is where a challenge arises.
Hive has no direct fees. Instead, it uses a non-tradeable token system that allows users to write to the database. This is rechargeable meaning that what is used will replenish.
The net result is that people can comment and upvote without paying a fee. This is a huge difference. How many people are going to pay even a penny to issue an upvote on something?
Of course, if there are no fees, how is the infrastructure cost being covered? It is something people need to ask. There is a high probability what is being utilized is not decentralized and, if enough data flows through, it will be sold. This is the common model on the Internet.
Hive does not do this. It is a decentralized node system providing the same distributed ledger technology of any other blockchain. In addition, it also provides immutable text, data storage. The only requirement is that one have enough of the non-tradeable token to engage, a realization that comes through staking the governance coin.
In this way, the Coin itself becomes an access token.
These 3 factors separate Hive from everything else.
That said, there are still some challenges. What are the drawbacks to the ecosystem at the moment.
From what I can see, there are two. That are as follows:
The protocol has no smart contract capability. This is very restricting to developers. It essentially forces projects to integrate EVMs into their process, adding more work.
Fortunately, there are projects that are addressing this on the second layer. A number of sidechains are under constructions which will bring smart contracts to the ecosystem. These will utilize the same account management system while offering a different set of nodes. This means the on-chain and smart contract operates are separate.
Ultimately, this drawback is just a temporary issue. The forecast is this will be resolved within 12 months.
Most new forms of currency are seeking utility. That is what they lack the most.
Once that is achieved, a second issue usually arises: a lack of liquidity. As use grows, more is required to satisfy the transactional needs of the userbase.
HBD is not a very liquid coin. It is rather difficult to get a hold of. There is a rather simple solution that can eliminate any issue.
This coin is algorithmic. It has no reserve backing but, rather, the market capitalization of the governance coin fills that role. This is the case because HIVE can be converted into HBD at any time. There is a correlation between the two. Hence, the value of any HIVE coins can be transformed into HBD. It is a process that does not create any more value (or coins), it simply moves it around.
If large numbers of HBD are required, it is only a matter of taking HIVE and converting it. Over time, we can see how this could end up being a positive as opposed to a drawback.
Hive has some distinct advantages over other blockchain networks. There are some drawbacks which are being addressed. The present lack of smart contracts is a major stumbling block.
Nevertheless, this is one to watch. Developers who can see where this is going will find the opportunities are only growing. The scalability of the chain is constantly expanding. This means we are looking at something that can handle SoFi in a truly decentralized manner.
Most of what is out there is just a repackaging of the same Web 2.0 model.
