Vitalik Talks On How Web3 Is Broken While Ignoring Hive
Good news everyone. Hive is still off the radar.
Why is this good?
When it comes to the battle we are waging, it is best to proceed without a bullseye on one's chest. At this moment, operating without attention is of benefit.
This, of course, does not make the "green candle" people happy. They want all the attention so their bags pump. Naturally, if the alphabet agencies from the government start sniffing around, then problems arise.
For now, we need to focus upon building.
Reverting back to Vitalik, it is very interesting to see how he frames the failure of Web3.
Transaction Fees
He repeatedly spoke about transaction fees and how they kill any sense of Web3 values. How can we compete with the banks when the cost to transact is even more than the financial intermediaries charge.
This is a valid point.
His focus is upon Ethereum which, during bull runs, can exceed $100 per transaction. This makes social media and many aspects to gaming impossible. Most NFTs are effectively locked since moving them results in a financial loss.
He then goes on to mention payments:
Buterin also claimed that "few talk about consumer crypto payments," and that where people do use crypto to transact or save money, "they often do this through centralized means" such as exchange accounts or trading the stablecoin USDT on TRON.
Again, it is not as if he is wrong. We are seeing exactly that. The use of USDC or Tether are mostly finance related. People use them to either park money. If value is transferred, it through the likes of Coinbase.
Here is where the industry is at a crossroads. It is also where it totally failed.
Hive To The Rescue
Once again, Vitalik completely ignores Hive.
I cannot state this enough: it is to our benefit. While they are spinning their wheels, we keep building.
How are the transaction fees on Hive? From what I can see, they are still fee-less.
When it comes to payments, we have our own base layer stablecoin. This is the medium of exchange for the ecosystem. While the transaction volume might be low compared to some of the major coins, what centralized exchanges are being used? We know the Hive Backed Dollar (HBD) is not listed.
In spite of that, we see people in Mexico, Venezuela, and Cuba all making purchases using HBD. This is done in peer-to-peer style without a CEX.
Amazing the problems that Vitalik sees are not really there. The values of Web3 are still alive, they just do not exist on Ethereum. Instead, it is Hive that is carrying the concepts forward.
This is a community that is miniscule. Many view this as an issue. In reality, this is to our advantage.
Growth comes with its own set of problems. For the moment, it is a builders paradise. We are creating the tools that will allow individuals to create businesses. Here is where the tenets of Web3 can be realized.
To achieve that end, the proper structure is required. To me, this means decentralization and distribution. These are what lead to censorship resistant and immutability. They do not exist in a centralized world.
Perhaps Vitalik is starting to realize that.
In short, his vision for Ethereum is dead. Even if the fees are solved, the issue is coin distribution. The pre-mine is going to forever haunt them. Of course, this is not to say that Ethereum will fail. My opinion is that it will be wildly successful. The blockchain failed according to his vision. The values of Web3 will not be present on that network.
Basically, it moved elsewhere.
The World Of Data
Few can argue the importance of data. We are moving further into an age where this is becoming like oxygen. Look no further than some of the LLMs rolling out to see how this is proceeding.
What it means is a few entities are in control. Names such as Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Apple are going to be major players. Anyone else who wants to be involved will have to approach these entities. There could be one solution: data on public blockchains. Under this scenario, that is available to anyone.
In the digital age, the world cannot have freedom if it is a slave to major corporations regarding data. Here is another way that prison walls are erected.
The structure of Web3 is the database is owned by the community. Those who have stake in the network are able to realize the appreciation in value due to growth. Data is a major component of this in the digital realm. After all, nothing on the Internet exists without a database (actually many).
This is the essence of the "next generation internet". While the majority of the people involved focus upon price and green candles, the basics of the transition are completely overlooked. This is true whether we approach it from the viewpoint of money, economics, data, social engagement, or immutability.
On this end, for the most part, I agree with Vitalik: the industry failed.
There is a green sprout in all of this: Hive.
Some might say this is over the top yet find another network that has the structure and base components we find here. When the proposed solution for Bitcoin volatility is a stablecoin on Lightning Network, you know the industry is way off the mark. Even the Bitcoiners are lost in space.
It is a pain in the hind end to set things up properly. A case could be made that it is impossible to do. To be honest, Hive had a synchronistic moment when Justin Sun attacked it. Removing the pre-mine is a huge step forward. We also saw a "band of rebels" who were willing to establish a network built upon the tenets Vitalik is discussing. This is carrying through to other infrastructure that is being developed, modeled after the same concept.
My opinion is we will see the crypto world having an aha moment at some point. Hive is under the radar and should remain there for a while. As we keep building, resiliency is being added. This is our defense against the inevitable attacks that will come.