We ran across these people on Twitter and other social media sites. They are not hard to find. In fact, they stand out like a streetcar in a forest.
Bitcoin Maxis.
To some, HODLers are stand by their convictions. For others, this is a cancer that is hindering the progress of the industry.
When it comes to Hive, these people have no clue. They simply do not understand, nor will they. Of course, a lot of this stems from the fact they have as much interest in a new system as Jack Dorsey or Elon Musk. They are like kids putting their hands over their ears screaming "lalala".
Nevertheless, the lack of understanding is exactly why Hive will thrive.
In this article we will cover some of the main points that shows why the Maxis are holding onto a sinking ship.
Before going any further, this is not an article implying that Bitcoin is a bad investment or has no upside. This is going to focus upon the base issues, leaving the market aside. As always do your own research and understand markets are capable of just about anything.
The Monetary System
In my view, to fully immerse ourselves in this realm, we first have to understand what our monetary system it. This is a point that many fail to grasp.
If you asked 100 people what the monetary system is, what kind of answers do you think you would get? I have no idea since I never did this but I am sure it would be interesting. Also, there is a great chance it would be inaccurate.
For those who do not know, our monetary system is really the merging of two fields: accounting and communication. When we bore down the the basic essence this is what we find.
The first is what Satoshi Nakamoto saw when developing Bitcoin. This utilizes distributed ledger technology. Essentially, Bitcoin is a ledger of financial transactions, no different than a bank. Of course, it should mirror that since banks are the ones who control the money. In other words, they maintain the ledger on our behalf.
What is overlooked is the second part.
This is the area where networks such as SWIFT enter. Few question the role this pays when seeing threats of sanctions by the U.S. and its allies. How come there is that threat when SWIFT is not a settlement system?
The answer lies in the fact that it is a communication (messenger) service, one that is vital to the existing monetary system.
Accounting and communications.
Technology
At some point this year, the Federal Reserve is going to roll out FedNow. This is a payment system it is offering to its member banks. This is a massive upgrade from what is operating at the moment. One of the key features is instant settlements.
This was a step forward that was long overdue. While the Fed is updating the domestic network, international payments will still be awful. This is where discussion about wholesale CBDCs make sense. The global payment system is a mess, dating back many decades.
Here is another issue that many face: technological advancement is crucial. We live in an era where disruption occurs fairly regularly. Since the Internet came to money, thanks to Bitcoin, we are seeing the entire spectrum potentially shifting.
The problem here is that disruptors that do not keep advancing end up being disrupted themselves. This is what the Maxis overlook.
Bitcoin is now 13 years old and basically the same technology. There were 2 updates I believe in that time, neither altering the basic mechanics of the blockchain.
Hive, on the other hand, is the exact opposite.
Monetary Elasticity
Monetary elasticity is vital for the economy and free market. Without that, economies see stagnant growth, a situation that usually leads to the collapse in value of asset classes.
Hive as devised a way where the community is responsible for the elasticity of the money supply. Through the conversion mechanism, more of the transactional currency, HBD can be created. The reverse can also take place.
When trying to build an economy, this is vital. Bitcoin, after all, achieved the success they did due to the inflation of the coin. This was a successful aspect of the design. Where it is flawed is that it has no elasticity, meaning that it will pool. We are already seeing this with people like Michael Saylor who states he is going to keep amassing more.
Merging Of Social Media And Finance
If this was a question, Elon Musk is bringing the answer. There is little doubt the ultimate direction he is going to take Twitter. His first financial venture is going to become a payment system. This is something the company already applied for.
There was a time, many decades ago, where computing and finance were separate. This is no longer the case. It is impossible to operate in the 2020s in a financial way without computing.
Within a decade, it is likely we are going to be saying the same thing about social media. The idea of it operating without finance will be absurd. Of course, this brings up how are they blended. Many will say just implement cryptocurrency as a payment system to social media applications. While this would merge the two, that is like taking two separate cakes and stacking them on top of each other. The result would not be one cake since we could clearly see it is two cakes.
Hive is approaching both from the base layer and working up. This is one of those situations that we kind of backed into. Nevertheless, we are confronted with the reality that we have both social media and finance inherent in the ecosystem.
What this means is the development from the core stretches to both areas. When we look at Twitter adding Bitcoin or DOGE (or whatever) to its platform, is there anyone who believes that is a Web 3.0 system? Why the accounting system might not be controlled by Musk, the communication side is. You cannot transact on Twitter without Twitter's permission.
A Better Network
Maxis like to call everything that isn't Bitcoin a "sh*tcoin". In many areas, they are correct. However, to take that stance also means overlooking any technology.
To put it simply, Hive is a much better network. If we look at this solely from a market perspective, we buy into the confusion. Markets are terrible judges of value. That said, when we look at the ability of the network, we see the difference.
Of course, this is replied with the idea of the Lightning Network. Proponents believe this is the solution.
What is needed is an electronic payment system based on cryptographic proof instead of trust, allowing any two willing parties to transact directly with each other without the need for a trusted third party. Transactions that are computationally impractical to reverse would protect sellers from fraud, and routine escrow mechanisms could easily be implemented to protect buyers. In this paper, we propose a solution to the double-spending problem using a peer-to-peer distributed timestamp server to generate computational proof of the chronological order of transactions. The system is secure as long as honest nodes collectively control more CPU power than any cooperating group of attacker nodes.
This is from the Bitcoin White Paper. Isn't it interesting that they are proposing for Lightning is what Bitcoin was suppose to be?
What they are trying to accomplish with Lightning, a rapid, inexpensive medium of exchange system is already present on Hive. The base infrastructure already offers that without the second layer. We can only imagine some of the different features we will build into the decentralized layer 2 systems that are starting to pop up (hopefully a robust smart contract platform).
In Conclusion
Hive is one of the most advanced networks in blockchain. Some like to claim that the best technology does not always win. This is true. However, the reality is the best technology usually does win.
Here is a link to an article about the 10 Most Popular Laptops of 2009. How would you like to be operating your business on one of these?
The reality is that technology does matter. When it comes to the monetary system, communications is vital. In the digital realm, this means networks. If you are dealing with a network that is more than a decade behind, the chances of fulfilling a large portion of the market, i.e. transactions, is reduced.
This is the essence of the monetary system. If going to compete, one best forth the technology to do that.
It is a fact the Maxis do not seem to grasp.
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