True but they would have also difficulty using ETH and smart contract also due to price so Hive is kind of leveling the playing field IMO. It is likely that network effect will happen by having people brining other people in and they can sponsor those new person with RC for free and build a community. It might be the job of future smaller community leaders to onboard others. You still have the option to use other crypto and swapping via tools like leodex if you have the money to do it yourself.
And people have the opportunity to earn back that money anyway and after the initial grinding / find connection then people can enjoy the benefit of their HP for a long time without additional capital.