We often wonder what the future of Hive holds or what direction it will head in. This make sense since people like to plan. Of course, this is the path that centralized entities take.
Decentralized, or grassroot, movements tend to have minds of their own. Instead of a planned direction we see paths evolve as the different actors start to exert their influence. Success builds upon itself leading others to join the fun. Over time, many avenues are pursued, all springing from the core ideal.
The last few months is very telling about where Hive is heading. Although it looks like a hodgepodge of ideas, there is a consistent theme that I see forming.
Ultimately, Hive is going to be a financial epicenter for its users.
Being a part of the Web 3.0 transformation, rewards are obviously part of the equation. As we move away from the present structure, where the wealth generated from data, activity, and information is in the hands of a few, we will see more individuals around the world partaking. This will, in my opinion, really start to attack the income and wealth inequality issue so many discuss.
While in the early stages, we can already see how this is shaping up. Of course, the main aspect to this blockchain is the Proof-of-Brain concept and people being rewarded for their posting, commenting, and upvoting. From my perspective, this is only the tip of the iceberg.
Here are a few examples of what is taking place on Hive. Please bear in mind, these are examples and the mention of them is not necessary as endorsement of the project.
Dcity is a game that is gaining a lot of popularity. I am seeing more posts by individuals detailing their progress. I have not partaken so I can't speak from experience but I did come across this article the other day.
Here we see 
We can see 400 HIVE in for 1,000 out. That is basically turning $100 into $250, a return that any investor would love to have. Of course, this individual also got the enjoyment out of the game while amassing this return.
The best part is this process can be repeated. It appears the player is ready to start on another city.
@okean123/i-just-sold-my-whole-dcity
The idea here is to have a token backed by HIVE which is then used for various activities to increase the value of the token. I won't go into all the details but it deals with the basic functionality of Hive along with some off-platform tokens.
Here is the full write up.
@hivebuilder/introducing-the-hive-builder-project
eXode just completed its pre-sale and is in alpha right now. This is a game that is generating some excitement on discord. Players are given a planet and have the opportunity to colonize it. Playing cards are used to provide the necessary items required to be successful.
Since these cards are NFTs, the ownership of them is clear. There is a marketplace that allows cards to be bought and sold. All transactions are posted to the blockchain. HIVE is also one of the tokens used to acquire the different cards.
Gaming assets hold great potential. If a game becomes more popular, the value of some of the rare assets can escalate. This is obviously part of the thinking of khazrakh.
As we can see from the detail of this account, the $2,500 is the total value at the end of the pre-sale. The money put in amounted to a little over $2,000.
Not a bad return especially considering the game has not even started yet.
Here is the article posted yesterday.
@khazrakh/why-i-invested-2-500usd-in-exode-and-why-you-might-want-to-do-the-same
Gaming on Hive holds great potential. We just mentioned a couple yet there are others.
At the top of the list is Splinterlands, who joined Hive at the beginning of the month. There are many on that platform who bought cards that appreciated in value. People are also earning DEC as they play the game and go through the different tournaments.
Holybread just made the jump from Steem and we are seeing a lot of updates as that team makes changes.
Here is a list of the games on Hive.
https://hiveblockchaingaming.com/category/blockchain-games/
Over that time, we saw the value of the token go from a price of 1.00 to the last published report of 1.83 HIVE. Bear in mind this is the value of the holdings, not what the token is trading for.
We see the numbers look different on Hive-Engine. The lowest ask is 3.40 while the highest bid is 2.10.
It also pays a weekly dividend.
Finally, there is 
We see the click-for-pay model being used, one that is making Brave and the BAT so popular. This is a project that is located on Hive while tying into EOSIO smart contracts.
These are just a few of the projects that are already in operation on Hive. There are many more that I overlooked. However, the important point I wanted to make is the fact that these do not focus upon content creation or the reward pool. As they projects grow, both in stature and number, the opportunities will just keep expanding.
This is what leads me to believe that Hive will be a financial epicenter for its users. We are already seeing some marketplaces popping up which is giving people a way to utilize their tokens. It is all part of an evolving economy that is being created.
All individuals are able to partake. Over time, I would expect things to continue in a manner that provides greater incomes (and wealth) outside the HIVE token. Naturally, this will still be a central part of the ecosystem since it is the pair for most activity. However, the growth potential can take off exponentially as most projects achieve greater success.
I hope this article shows how this is forming already.
The best part is that people are engaging in activities they enjoy while earning. Thus, Hive is a fun financial epicenter.
If you found this article informative, please give an upvote and rehive.
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