I don't know, is the circle of optimism that we see on the Hive chain by users unhealthy, entirely fueled by bias or is there some element of truth in it? I mean some of the futuristic scenarios are simply mere projections of our desires, but it does appear others are not as outlandish as they seem.

Hive is currently above the $1 mark yet again for the fourth or so time this year. Perhaps more importantly, we have seen it remain relatively stable around 80 cents for months. This gradual, stable increments in value started around June and has been consistent despite the volume of activity that goes in and around the chain.

It sort of makes me want to give a long term forecast of what the value could look like, say a year from now. Now I certainly don't think we have arrived in terms of value yet, at least evidenced by volume and activity, but we are certainly in a better place than we likely have ever been in terms of outlook.

It certainly appears The days of 11 cent Hive are over, and confined to the history books. Even if we were to dip, there will likely be a resistance far higher than what was previously seen. This is great for all those who have built till this point (now maybe you guys can take some profits), but also has implications for those trying to build.

It sadly also means that the days of huge Hive rewards will cease, as less Hive is available in the reward pool but is replaced by HBD. Also, because of an anticipated increase in user activity, the days of huge reward pool returns per individual are also over. Early mover advantage paying off on one end, while a Deja Vu scenario plays out on the other end.

2017?

When I joined Hive (then steem) prices went crazy that December and we witnessed perhaps the craziest period in the platforms history. Unfortunately, when things died down we suffered for it for years because of certain 'teething problems' that were necessary in order to build a more sustainable model.

Now bidbots are eliminated, there is a lot more incentive to hold these days than ever before, and the value offerings are evolving. Should we have a 2017 experience, chances are the response will be a lot more mature and we won't have as bad a fallout.

Nonetheless, this is becoming an interesting end to the year solely because of crypto generally and Hive in particular. As someone put it though, it can't be all bad to have articles making obscene amounts for a little while, can it?