Are We Seeing A Bit Of A Shift On Hive?
A couple days ago, I put out the monthly Hive Power report that I did the past couple years. The numbers this month were fairly flat which got me thinking. We really have come a long way from when I started it.
At that time, there were really only a few options for HIVE. One could power it up to increase his or her standing within the platform. This increased voting power which enabled for greater curation rewards. We also saw the choice of selling it for another currency on external exchanges. Finally, somewhere along the way one could purchase Splinterland cards (Steemmonsters).
Those were really the main options. Of course, if one was not into card games, that left two basic choices.
That is not the case today. With the addition of Hive-Engine we are seeing a lot more activity take place outside the scenarios I presented. We also are watching more games emerge which are providing individuals with options that did not exist before.
While we cannot establish a trend after only one month, it was noticeable that the Whales were the only group to increase their Hive Power. I use the percentage held against the whole as the barometer for increase or decrease. Every other category saw a drop, albeit minimal since it truly was basically a flat month.
Initially I considered the fact that the price of HIVE dropped and maybe the Whales were taking advantage of that. This would make sense since they tend to load up when they feel that opportunities are presenting themselves. We see the same thing happen in Bitcoin and Ethereum. Whales are whales for a reason; they tend to know how to play the markets.
Nevertheless, as I considered it more, it dawned on me. I am seeing a lot more post detailing how people are loading up on other digital assets in addition to HIVE. Whether it is LEO, NEOXAG, SPORTS, CTP, or a host of other tokens, many are posting about how they are staking more each month. Of course, the only way to get these tokens is to use HIVE.
At the same time, I know a number of people who literally put thousands of dollars into some of the games that are on here. Considering the fact that $1,000 is roughly 5,000 HIVE at the moment, that is a significant amount.
Could it be that smaller accounts are finding more success with some of the tribes and games, thus not really interested in powering up their HIVE? Instead, it is a mechanism simply to be used to get the other digital assets they desire.
My view is that it is most plausible.
To start, we see a number of people who are actively blogging yet finding they are getting larger payouts from the tribes (as priced in USD) than HIVE. This makes total sense since the tribes are smaller in numbers, thus it is easier to stand out and garner some attention. With less competition, those holding large stakes in that particular token will see the posts a lot easier.
In my view, what this does is it starts to change the mindset of people. If they are having more financial success through their efforts with a particular tribe, that is where their focus will be. Suddenly, that token takes on greater meaning, perhaps even more so than HIVE.
Not only are people pursuing this path, but the prospect of other opportunities could also be changing behavior. For me, I have a few thousand HIVE on H-E ready to be used as I see other situations present themselves. I firmly believe there will be other projects popping up, presenting themselves as fantastic opportunities for those who get involved. For this reason, liquidity is a valuable path to take.
The question is whether or not others are following a similar thought process? I have a feeling many are.
A big reason this might be a valid concept is due to the fact that gaming is becoming more popular on Hive. Some of the games require "fuel" of some nature. Whatever the base token is, the likes of DEC or SIM, players need to have some to keep advancing. In other words, there is a reason to swap HIVE for those tokens. Suddenly, the utility is much greater for both since the game is of importance to that individual.
All of this is making HIVE into more than just a token to be powered up. The utility of it keeps expanding as there are more use cases for it. This does pull things away from the old "get HIVE, power it up" model. Instead, we see some instances where HIVE is actually being used as a currency.
Certainly, there is a lot of speculation taking place right now. However, it seems much of it is beyond just the view of Hive and where it is going. Just like Ethereum is enjoying great success due to the explosion of DeFi, Hive is seeing a foundation being laid where the applications are starting to pull the focus away from the base layer. I believe this is a positive as we move forward.
For a while now I felt the opportunity for newer accounts was to focus upon the external. Hive Power is very valuable since it does provide one with a voice on the platform. Two of the biggest factors, outside voting power, is the proposal system and witness voting. Here is where we see the governance and development coming into play. Thus, people who accumulate wealth via the tribes and games can than use some of the gains to power up to gain a greater voice.
That said, the getting there is the hard part. Diving headlong into Hive as a blogger is not easy. This is why I feel those joining today do have an advantage with the different communities. Being specialized brings about greater rewards in many instances.
All of this starts stacking upon itself. Whether people are moving from HIVE to another token or vice versa, the key is to keep expanding and growing. In this regard, I think we are witnessing a shift in the entire Hive ecosystem. This is no longer a one trick pony. A few of the applications (games) are progressing faster than the main platform itself. Again, we see the same thing with Ethereum where DeFi development is eclipsing the pace of upgrading the main network.
It is often easy to see the process taking place yet realize how slow it is occurring. Naturally, most everyone involved wants to see this sped up. However, the process is what it is. Development takes time and it is often learned that "overnight sensations" take 10 years to get there.
We are still in the early days. Nevertheless, when we look at the progress, we see a lot more happening in a shorter period of time than before. Hive, since the fork, is a little over 4 months old. Considering where we were the day the fork happened, I think the progress is remarkable. A case could be made more was done in these 4 months than took place in all of 2019.
This bodes well for the second half of 2020. I know of a number of projects that have a lot more development ready to roll out before year end. This is only going to expand the options people have even more.
For this reason, I definitely feel we are at a turning point with the platform. The Layer 2 applications are taking on a lot more importance, providing everyone on Hive with greater opportunities. This is only going to keep enhancing the holdings of all who are active in their different niches.
It might actually get to the point where people have too many options. Where do I focus my attention is becoming a bigger problem.
I guess, on the grand scale, it is a nice problem to have.
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