It is amazing how far things have come in the last 5 years. Back in 2017, the ecosystem that we spend so much time on was a shell of what we see today. At that time, it truly was only a blogging platform. There were a few games that were in operation. However, the majority of all rewards generated (and wealth held) can from blogging related activities.
We also have to mention that, during that period, we had only the two base layer coins: HIVE and HBD.
Since then, we saw the introduction of Hive-Engine and layer 2 tokens. This created a massive explosion of opportunities to get rewarded. That said, it still was only a drop in the bucket.
There was a game that was starting to roll out called Steemmonsters. Actually, the game wasn't rolling out, just the cards. People were scooping them up in anticipation of a game being produced.
Of course, over the next few years, it did. We also watched it become one of the most popular blockchain games. To this day, Splinterlands continues to innovate and expand what is being offered to the stakeholders. This is a huge part of Hive's evolution.
All of this makes Hive an epicenter for people to build wealth.
For those who are deep into Splinterlands, the words just flow. However, for those who are outside looking in, there is a lot of confusion. This is not much of a problem because there are opportunities even for those who are not familiar with each power or couldn't tell you the difference between a Water and Death Splinter.
It is easy to recall things a little over a year ago. Hive was infested with multitudes of Splinterlands' millionaires. Many saw their decks skyrocket to over $1 million. Obviously, the bear market took some of the luster off the pricing, with many dropping back. Nevertheless, this does show the potential.
By most standards, having a net worth of over $1 million is a great achievement. Imagine if that was derived from an online card game.
That is exactly what happened to many people. Naturally, the path is not ended. Since that time, many features were rolled out. New sets of cards were rolled out. We now see Riftwatchers being the big thing. There is still land on the horizon, although that was sold.
Then we have the continued debate of DEC versus SPS. People are often trying to decide which token to accumulate.
One thing that is important to note is that all Splinterland assets are property of the individual. They can be housed in a wallet, even moved outside the game. We see people playing in-game tokens in liquidity pools, other are renting their cards on 3rd party sites, and some simply stake SPS on the main website.
The point being there are a lot of opportunities within this single game. And one major key is that a Hive account is required to enter. Another major characteristic is that none of this has anything to do with blogging although there is a platform for that along with, you guessed it, the SPT token.
We have an expansive system.
If we step back, like we did earlier, and look at how things were 5 years ago, we see a stark contrast to where things are today. We can presume, with the way development is taking place, we will be able to do the same thing 5 years from now.
The question is what opportunities are we going to pursue?
One of the biggest changes since those early days is the ability to stake our coins or tokens. Again, we have to view things through the way they were. At that time, HIVE was powered up and earned a bit of a return, similar to how it was now. This seems to always be around the 3% range. Of course, this also provides the ability to curate content, also providing a return.
Since that time, the ability to stake and generate a APR has multiplied. People are able to take many different tokens and utilize them in this manner. SPS can be staked in the game for an estimates 35% return. There are diesel pools on Hive-Engine along with some liquidity pools on both Polygon and Binance Smart Chain under Leofinance.
All of this helps people to take their rewards and grow them. We even have the ability to get involved with infrastructure thanks to SpkNetwork. Now, individuals can stake their LARYNX tokens which are being airdropped on different node operators. This allows one to potentially earn some SPEAK tokens.
There is, of course, the option of running your own node if you so desire.
As we can see the options for the different coins and tokens is expansive. What about the Hive Backed Dollar (HBD)? It is only within the last couple years that any return was provided for placing that in savings. Today, it stands at 20%, establishing a baseline for other projects to top. One can choose to stake HBD on-chain for 20% or take on additional risk by staking elsewhere. Naturally, for that added risk, the return has to be enticing.
How would you like to completely change your financial life over the next 5 years?
This is something that Hive is offering. The reason why we know this is true is because of what happened the last 5 years. Hundreds of people (if not thousands) had their financial lives transformed due to this ecosystem. The abovementioned Splinterlands is a prime example of doing that.
We always have to bear in mind the level that people seek is going to differ. Much of this is due to where one is from and the standard of living versus cost. That said, Hive is a place where people can build wealth over the period of 5 years. Those who are consistent with their action along with making intelligent decisions will see their holdings grow. This could come from blogging, buying stake, or simply getting involved with some of the different games.
The great thing is more is under development. In other words, there will be a larger number of opportunities in 2 years as compared to today.
Even swapping into a token like EDS or INDEX can provide a 20%-30% return with a fair bit of stability.
Hive is changing lives.
Cryptocurrency in general is an enormous opportunity. However, for the most part, the system is based upon speculation on price appreciation. Hive has that component but offers something different. Once can get rewarded for his or her actions.
Here is another simple project that puts HIVE in people's wallets each day: POSH.
Each day, someone can tweet out Hive-based content and get rewarded with a bit both HIVE and POSH. It isn't going to make anyone rich but it is a nice way to get a steady flow of into the wallet each day.
This is an example of the dozens, if not hundreds, of ways to get rewarded on Hive.
All of this, over the long-term, can lead to wealth building opportunities.
There are not too many places within cryptocurrency that we see this.
If you found this article informative, please give an upvote and rehive.
gif by 
logo by 
