It seems we go through this periodically, usually when the price of HIVE drops.
Instances like this attract the doomers who feel that Hive is dying. To me, this is a worthless analytical approach providing no value. When looking at the state of initiatives, the market is the worst barometer to focus upon.
Sadly, this is exactly what happens. When people see the price drop, for some reason, they take it as a reflection upon what is happening. Certainly there are instances where the market is simply addressing something major, such as a company heading for bankruptcy.
However, when it comes to cryptocurrency, this is often misplaced.
In this article we will cover what is taking place and why the narrative about Hive dying is untrue.
Hive Is A Different Breed
For those who have been around this ecosystem, we are dealing with nothing new. However, from time-to-time, we see the assertions come back in force.
The problem that I see starts with how people view Hive. They believe it is something that it is not. We are not dealing with Facebook, YouTube, or X. Nor are we dealing with a Goldman Sachs are Barclays.
Instead, we are dealing with a database. That is what a blockchain is. The network allows for the storing of data in a decentralized manner, without 3rd party consensus. Also, unlike chains such as Bitcoin, this allows for the storing of text data.
So far, there is no problems with this process. In fact, over time, this is only improving. We see the information put out by the core developers, addressing different issues as needed. There is also progress being made on HAF, which is a layer 2 system that allows for easier integration for applications that want to use the data.
The data is resident at the base layer, without smart contract integration. It is extractable by anyone willing to set up an API. Each day, more data is added, increasing the size of the database. Of course, this could cause issues of scaling, something said development team is continually addressing.
As this occurs, it becomes easier to keep the network operating. Each iteration of improvement actually enhances the performance of the blockchain, at least from a cost perspective.
What Is Causing The Drop?
This is something that is usually a waste of time to address.
Many often wonder what caused the price of something to drop. The answer is simple: most sellers than buyers. All the noise about this or that being the reason usually are nothing more than fluff to get clicks or eyeballs.
That said, one possible scenario could be the fact that Korean exchanges are being scrutinized and might drop a lot of tokens.
South Korean crypto exchanges could delist “about 600 altcoins” this year, as financial authorities step up their policing of the sector.
Source
We know that Upbit has the most trading activity for HIVE. Since many alt-coins are suffering the same fate, the market might be taking this into consideration.
Once again, there is no way to tell if this is accurate but it does make a degree of sense.
Also, it is nothing more than a temporary setback. We are looking at alternatives being constructed, that reduce the dependency upon centralized exchanges.
The Development Of Hive
Many correlate the advancement of Web 3.0 to the Internet in the 1990s. In my mind, that is a valid comparison as I see many similarities.
For anyone who experienced the first iteration, even in hindsight, it is a lesson in how things progress. When dealing with something of this magnitude, it is not an overnight process.
We now live in a world of instant gratification. People expect things to appear in a moment. If a new application rolls out, it should rival something that is a decade old.
It does not work that way.
There is a reason why developers release minimal viable products (MVP). They offer a stripped down version of the application to get it into the wild. From here, in addition to testing, other features can be added as development occurs.
Another problem deals with infrastructure. Here is where I see the general public, including those on Hive, completely clueless. Developers know you need basic infrastructure to build upon. This is a slow and tedious process. In the world of development, this truly is thankless work.
This not only includes the base layer but also all sidechains and other infrastructure that augments what is happening on layer 1.
In other words, we are dealing with something that is a consumer of time. This not only applies to Hive but every network.
Of course, we have some infrastructure that was long awaited in the final stages of testnet. It was years in the making, something that upset many people who thought it should just arrive in a week or two.
Technological Progress
Technology has to go through certain cycles. This is something that is unavoidable.
Unfortunately, this is not something that most people are accustomed to. Instead, they talk about marketing to attract users when that is not what should be done. What is there to offer?
Overnight technological successes do not happen. Sure, we can point to the iPhone but how long did that take to develop? When did Apple start working on that?
Besides, it took the advancement of battery, screen, and other technologies to advance before it was ready for use. At the same time, compute, the Internet, and mobile systems required enough build out to facilitate the shift.
In other words, the iPhone would not have been feasible in 1995.
It is easy to say that Hive is failing when, actually, the contrary is the case. We are seeing continued development both on and around the network. As always, nothing operates in a vacuum. We are dealing with some of the most fundamental in technology characteristics. For that reason, looking at Hive like one would a company or industry will present a fall impression.
This is something completely different.
It is easy to grasp the move from the traditional client-server system. However, does that mean we understand the implications?
Not necessarily.
For this, requires a deep dive into areas that are not commonly focused upon by the masses. Hive is not a company, hence there is no comparison to Google or X. Sadly, this appears to be the mindset many are bringing when trying to size it up.
The valuation is something completely different. We saw a bit of it of how it works with ChatGPT. That is another initiative that was years in the making before it hit the mass market in November 2022.
Right now, a great deal of infrastructure is being built for Web 3.0. The tendency to compare it to Web 2.0 is unrealistic. The latter is something that was built over 15 years.
As Warren Buffett is known for saying: price is what you pay, value is what you get.