The Future Of Hive: A Renewed Excitement?
On the most recent episode of #cryptomaniacs, we had @blocktrades pay us a visit. He is one of the core developers adding to the code of our beloved blockchain. This was a very enlightening episode which all should watch/listen to. This is important for anyone who is questioning the direction of Hive.
It is true this is only one person, with individual ideas. However, the future focus on a grand scale. The idea of just creating an interesting messenger application or a game is not on the agenda. He is thinking much larger.
Pulling it back to the present, we have a few things that are really encouraging. While the best technology does not always win, that which has major challenges can face serious headwinds. For this reason, it will be interesting to see what will happen in the next 5 years.
Developer Epicenter
Is Hive close to turning to an epicenter for developers? This is hard for most of us non-technical people to answer yet it does appear life is about to get a lot easier for them as it pertains to Hive.
The Hive Application Framework (HAF) is going live around the same time as the next Hard Fork (estimated mid-April). This is not part of the fork yet does require API updates so putting it together makes sense.
Why is this so important?
From how it was explained, the HAF is going to put building on blockchain back in the developers area of expertise. It is going to use a common programming language while also eliminating the needs to deal with mini-forks that take place. In other words, the blockchain will be left to the experts and all the other developers can focus upon their applications and games.
This is a form of specialization. It just stands to reason that the percentage of developers who are advanced in the use of Solidity is small compared to the overall. Here is where Hive will hold another layer of appeal.
The second major area where this is vital is in scaling. From the conversation, the ability to upgrade the HAF will allow for both faster read and write times. This is going to put the speed of calls on parity with centralized systems. We all experienced how applications can be slow to respond when having to read blockchains. This can reduce the user experience.
Having the ability to perform at levels similar to centralized systems is crucial. For all the talk of blockchains taking over, the basic issue, for the moment, is they cannot. There is no way to push through the transactions that occur on centralized systems. It is something that the industry is working on. However, bottlenecks still crop up.
Perhaps the HAF will help to reduce that almost completely on Hive. That coupled with the fact that the developers are going to be able to code in their own environment (language) is helpful.
This will not only potentially draw more to Hive, what is developed at the second layer will take place quicker since only the application or game itself requires attention. Basically, the blockchain can be mostly ignored from this perspective.
Powerful Layer Two
The HAF is ultimately a tool to help Hive generate a powerful second layer. To do this, the idea is to keep the base layer tight and streamlined. The code is very specific with excess removed. The base operations (including account management and governance) are kept to the basics with everything else operating at the second layer. Blocktrades even mentioned how DPoS could be applied there to mimic Hive without having to write to the blockchain.
Here is where users reside. In the end, as much as we might like Hive, it is really meaningless from the mass perspective. This comes down to what is built and being offered to them. Ergo, they look at games like Splinterlands as their entry into the ecosystem. As we know, many do not stray far from there.
We often discuss how Hive is fast and fee-less. This is where this comes into play. The second layer is enhanced or restricted by what happens at the base layer. If things are slow or expensive, that impacts the experience of the second layer. It is unavoidable.
We also see where personal vision is entering on Blocktrades part. One of the projects he is going to jump on, after the Hard Fork, is to produce a Smart Contract platform that is tied to HAF. It was the plan all along to develop that and use it as the basis for this layer 2 solution.
Naturally, having this tied to Hive is helpful. Smart Contract capability is essential. We are looking at having another one added, most likely towards the end of the year. Whenever it does arrive, it will only enhance the offerings on Hive and the ability to expand the second layer even more.
Hive Backed Dollar
We covered this a great deal so there is no need to go into great detail.
What is important is the HBD is only going to get more attention with the passing of time. This is something that is believed to be an enormous asset to Hive. The past year saw great improvement in the performance of the token. We now have a range on the peg that is much tighter. The upside seems contained with the downside still seeing a bit of a problem.
One of the keys ingredients is going to be use cases. Applications and games are going to have to start incorporating that into their payment models. As always, token success ultimately comes down to utility. The better the peg works, the more likely people will be to accept it.
Also, the correlation between Hive and HBD cannot be understated. Hive has utility in the fact that it is required to interact with the blockchain. It is Hive's form of "gas" although a completely different system. At the same time, Hive conversion is one of the ways HBD is created. If the stablecoin starts to get a large number of use cases, a lot more is required. Conversion is the fastest way for this to happen.
Of course, the value is in this is tied to the robust second layer. If we get to that point where developers are flocking to Hive, then applications and games have the ability to integrate a native stablecoin that operates on the base layer. It is tied to the native wallet system on Hive, requiring no further programming. Again, this eliminates the need for 3rd party trust and escapes the grasp of regulators.
The Future
We are witnessing a process. Keep in mind that Hive, in spite of the legacy from the genesis block, is not even two years old. A great deal of the first year was spent optimizing the blockchain to reduce cost while increasing efficiency. This is a process that still continues.
However, having the infrastructure in place that provides developers the tools they need to create what they envision is vital.
When it comes to the basics, Hive is starting to check some of the boxes. Since it is a process, we are not quite there yet. More is still required which, hopefully, will be completed this year. Either way, mid-April should be a time of change on Hive as the Hard Fork and HAF roll out.
Like a puzzle, it is not easy to see the picture in the early stages. However, as more pieces are put into place, we can see the image start to emerge.
It is the same with Hive. While we are flying under the radar, a great deal of development is taking place to put a strong foundation in place. There is no hype or over-the-top excitement. However, when we look at the holdings of certain people, we can see where they are banking their future.
In the world of technology, hype often ends up in crashes. Many often talk about the first mover advantage. That is a worthy sentiment but, with technology, things change. Apple™ was never the dominant personal computer company even though it was the first to market. However, it is now one of the largest companies in the world because it created a very small computer called the Smartphone. Of course, by the time it did that it was already 30 years old.
While Hive will not take nearly that long to make an impact, we are still early in the game. The industry is still evolving without a clear cut direction. A lot of experimentation is taking place and how all this fits together is uncertain for now. Nevertheless, Hive is getting its ducks in a row due to the core development that is taking place.
Extrapolate all of this over another couple years and it is easy to get very excited about Hive.
What are your thoughts? How did you think the interview went and what did you learn?
If you found this article informative, please give an upvote and rehive.
gif by @doze
logo by @st8z
Posted Using LeoFinance Beta
