There are many different ways to look at blockchains and how we value them. Many simply look at market cap believing that tells the story. This is something that is easy to disagree with since markets are rarely logical. Hence, they can either drastically over price something, or under price it. Either way, it is not going to be very accurate.
Thus, we need other ways to view this projects and what is taking place. For me, I am a believer in watching the development. In the digital world, that tells the entire story. Of course, that will not directly result in greater activity since more people still need to be attracted to what is being created.
Ultimately, that is where the true value comes from. The user base is what provides the activity. It is the Network Effect that truly adds to the ecosystem. If a project has more users, the chance of long-term success is greatly enhanced. Over time, the idea is to add more growth, reinforcing this idea.
We often see how this is a trudge. A lot of this does not happen overnight. With Hive passing its first year in operation, it is good to take a look at how things are progressing.
The growth of Hive is not something many are talking about. However, in looking at the weekly numbers posted by 
To start, how is the activity on Hive? Which direction is it going in?
For a summation of this, let us look at the first chart.
After peaking out last year after the initial launch, we spent a lot of time going sideways or down. The low was the end of the year for the number of posts (including comments). Since that time, we have seen some fairly steady growth on the blockchain. The amount of activity, at least with this metric, is expanding.
Where is this activity coming from? Is it just the same accounts being active?
The next chart tells us that we are seeing a jump in the account category also.
We also see the long term sideways move from just after launch. However, the last couple months saw a big jump in the number of accounts transacting. What caused this is anyone's guess.
Some insight might come from the sign ups.
Here again we see the chart exhibiting a certain upward trend. Hive is creating more accounts on a weekly basis as compared to a few months ago. The key is that it is a significant amount, more than double what it was before.
How many of these accounts end up with people staying and getting active is impossible to gauge from these charts but there has to be a certain percentage.
This could explain, at least somewhat, the uptick in activity.
Then we have the posts and comments broken out.
Bear in mind, that the comments are on a per post basis, meaning that it is an average, not a raw number. Of course, we see the average drifting up over the last few months while the number of posts increased. This means the total number of comments is jumping at a nice rate.
Finally, we have the number of votes. This tells a similar story.
After looking at the numbers a bit more closely, there is no denying the trend that is in place. Hive is getting more active. We are seeing growth according to all the metrics. More accounts are using the blockchain, resulting in a greater amount of activity. This is a very positive sign for Hive.
Certainly, detractors will point to the fact that the growth rate is not that great. It is evident that we could progress at a much quicker pace. Also, the raw numbers are not all that impressive when we consider the totality of the Internet. Having 14K accounts transacting weekly isn't going to win Hive any prizes. However, it is a starting point and the direction, at least for now, is evident.
The key, of course, is for this to continue. As they say, it doesn't matter where you start from, only where you are going. For Hive, the numbers do not matter as long as they keep growing, hopefully at an accelerating pace.
Could all of this be playing into the increase in the token price? Perhaps although it is more likely the overall bull market is feeding that. Nevertheless, when trying to justify a price move, if that is possible, having increasing numbers to back it up is of great help.
This means that while the market could pull back, the floor of the value of Hive is being raised. As activity increases, the chance of others being attracted to what is here also goes up.
Here we see how it all keeps feeding itself, expanding the entire ecosystem.
A growing user base is vital for the long-term success of Hive. We are seeing more things being developed which is expanding the offerings to those who are here (or are arriving here). Eventually, this will help to feed into the numbers even more.
In the meantime, we need to do all we can to keep the trend going. Larger numbers tend to draw more people. As things grow, the rate can accelerate. It is evident that we are still awaiting that one application that will send things into overdrive. Whatever form it takes, having a solid foundation to build upon is vital.
Hive is known for its community and it is obviously getting larger each week. Some of this might be from older people returning as well as some new people joining our range. Either way, it is good to see the activity moving in the right direction.
We all have a hand in this since this is truly a community driven ecosystem. If each of us has an "ownership" mentality, it completely changes how we view what is taking place.
Those who are business owners will look at these charts, understanding how positive they truly are. Any business that has a trend like that, if it can be extended for years, will certainly end up as massive.
Hive is on that path. We just need to keep it up.
There is no doubt that Hive is growing.
All charts came from this post.
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