There seems to be some confusion as to what Hive is. It looks like many are getting their signals crossed when it comes to what it exactly is.
Hive is a back end database that powers all applications that are built upon it. Thus, it is the front ends where all the action is.
This seems counter intuitive, but if one understands data structures, it becomes pretty clear.
Take Amazon Web Services as an example. Who are the users being onboarded to that service? Does anywhere here pay to be on there?
If one is a developer, perhaps he or she pays Amazon to use that service. The rest of us do so through our Netflix subscription. So, while hundreds of millions utilize AWS, most are not even aware of it.
The same thing is happening with Hive. It is why the idea of catering to the general public by promoting Hive doesn't make a ton of sense. Hive's growth will come from the developers who are drawn to it and the applications they provide. It is at this level that more users can be attracted.
Hive is a specialized blockchain. It is not general in scope like EOS or Ethereum. This provides some special features that make Hive more streamlined as compared to the others. Of course, since there is no smart contract capability, there are some limitations, at least at the base layer.
The Proof-of-Brain concept is one of the main features of Hive. This means that activities need to fit into the "box" to be used on Hive. Anything outside of that will be rejected unless wrapped in a Custom JSON which is basically ignored by the blockchain.
Thus, the blockchain (database) is accessed through front-end applications. Many started to take sides in the Hive-Leo debate which is absurd. It is apples-to-oranges. Leofinance is a front end that is tokenized. This is no different than Peakd or Hive.blog. The only difference is the later two opted not to offer their own token. Therefore, they operate exclusively in HIVE rewards.
Just like every new Netflix subscriber is populating AWS, any front end that adds a user is helping to populate Hive. They cannot be separated. If an application is tied to the Hive blockchain (database), then it is automatically pulling the data from there. Each time a user of Netflix clicks on a different film or show, the AWS network of servers are utilized.
Cloud operations spend a vast amount of money ensuring their servers are up to date and providing data transfers as quickly as possible. Nobody wants to be watching a film on Netflix and have the "spinning disc of death" appear right in the middle of the film. The same is true for accessing a website. We will not tolerate slow data transfers.
It is no different with blockchain. When dealing with decentralized data structures, people will show no more tolerance than they do anywhere else. Of course, the early adopters can be more forgiving but the masses will not.
When we consider the transactions that take place, mostly transfer of value, we encounter the reality of what is going on. Hive can promote the idea of fast and fee. At the end of the day, a peer-to-peer money transfer system is still just pushing data back and forth. The question is how efficiently? Obviously, with some of the other blockchains out there, the rate is not very good. We see how things are slowed down either by the technology or the network traffic. Whatever the cause, the results can be frustrating for many.
Take a look at the Top 20 listed according to Coingecko. Something interesting happened over the last year. Notice how the blockchains have dropped lower. It all comes down to what is being built upon them. At the top are Bitcoin, Ethereum, and BCash. The last, I surmise, is still riding its name. Outside of that, the rest of the top 10 has a lot of activity in terms of development such as Chainlink. In other words, there is development taking place that is solving problems.
Some are questioning what is being built on EOS and TRON. Both of those are out of the top 10. We will see if they drift lower.
At the end of the day, the blockchain is not of interest to users. It is the applications that are on there. Hive's success, like every other blockchain outside of Bitcoin, is depend upon what is built on top of it. Hive is one that is being structured to host layer 2 solutions without great difficulty.
This is where the value lies and what it is designed for.
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