The comparison to the token economics of BTC cannot be dismissed. The point is that what drives value is not the distribution of inflation. It is demand that plays that role. As long as it outpaces supply the price will increase.
It doesn't matter if we change the distribution the APR will go down inevitably because the inflation rate will be reduced to less than 1% (unless if we change that). We need other narratives that create demand for Hive. The store of value meme is already taken by BTC, the "world computer" story doesn't have a clean winner yet but it looks like it's ETH with a clear lead.
The new tokens flow out to one group and they sell to those who want in.
Doesn't Hive already do this? Let's assume that we get rid of the social rewards, what will happen to the new tokens created? The answer is that they will be sold on the market...just like today and we will still need a narrative that creates demand for them or we create other inflows that do not depend on narratives.
I disagree that DEFI is the next evolution of the crypto world...it is *one of the branches that will grow from the tree known as blockchain...there will be others. And some will die off just like in nature.