Does Hive Have What It Takes To Be A Blockchain Operating System?

We are watching a lot of expansion in the blockchain world. It is starting to take on a vastly different look than it had even a year ago. We see this even on Hive where many recent changes and additions are altering how this chain will proceed going forward.

The present stage is where a lot of the foundation for the future is being built. We are witnessing infrastructure being developed that will spring many revolutionary applications and projects.

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It is obvious that the initial decision to make Hive a specific purpose blockchain did not unfold as planned. Perhaps it was the market changed yet there is a race to provide general purpose services. In other words, a wide range of features such as Decentralized Finance (DeFi), NFTs, DAO, social media and gaming are going to be found on many different blockchains.

Therefore, we are seeing a jostling for position.

Operating System For The Future

While this is not quite literal, it is a good way to frame what is taking place.

In the world of mobile phones, for example, we basically have Android and IOS. These are the two standards that everyone defaulted to. When they were designed by the respective companies, there was a different approach in mind.

Apple, of course, built a self-contained ecosystem that they control. Google opted to make their software open-source and free to use. This, naturally, tied into their application store as well as feeding them data.

Blockchain is still evolving and there are few standards at this time. A lot of what is taking place is simply the decisions of developers to gravitate in the direction they want. Therefore, attraction is steering things.

Without a main company in charge, it is going to be interesting to see how things progress. For now, hype, marketing, and attention is what helped thrust a few chains into the limelight. The fact there was plenty of money floating around on some like Ethereum helped out a great deal.

Do they have what it takes, however, to excel going forward? While there are some advantages, we are seeing as many challenges.

Keep in mind that it is likely most chains will have a great deal of success. The reason is we need all the bandwidth we can get. In the conversion from a centralized world to one where trillions of transactions occur on decentralized system, we are going to need a lot more than a couple of chains handling all that traffic.

Technical Capabilities Do Matter

Thus far, much of what is offered at the base layer of Hive is overlooked. Nevertheless, we are seeing scaling and transaction fee challenges with some of the major chains.

For example, we know these problems plague both Bitcoin and Ethereum. For the former, it is not really a problem since that is taking on a unique position within the industry. Few are expecting the majority of innovation to occur on Bitcoin. The maximalists appear to believe it is the answer for everything but the technology simply is not there.

We now have Ethereum maximalists who take the same approach. They espouse the idea that everything is going to run on Ethereum, and nothing else. Ironic how they spent years attacking the Bitcoin maximalists only to embrace the same viewpoint.

Nevertheless, it is impossible to ignore all the other chains that developed in response to the drawbacks on Ethereum. Solana, Binance Smart Chain, and a host of other "Ethereum Killers" evolved to offer what Ethereum originally promised, with more efficiency and lower cost.

The challenge with these chains is they are highly centralized at this point. This might be okay to start with but will they decentralize over time? History is not kind to this idea. Those with power tend not to give it up.

Smart Contract Capabilities

There is little doubt the revolutionary impact that smart contracts are having on the world. Even in these early days, we can see the potential they carry to completely revamp many aspects of society.

We know there is debate about Layer 1 versus Layer 2. The scope of that discussion is outside this article. What is important about Hive is we are seeing the development of a few different smart contract platforms. The latest to be revealed is the road map put out by the @spknetwork.

The appeal is that developers can determine what they want to use. Having a blockchain that offers a number of different smart contract platforms does not tie them into one single area. We will see the ability for those coding to select what best serves their needs.

Another area that is vital is ease of use. This is the entire premise behind the Hive Application Framework (HAF). It is designed to make the development of applications on Hive more streamlined. Developers only need to focus upon what they are creating while the updating of the blockchain and assembling of data is handled for them by those who are knowledgeable there. It opens up the door to a wider range of developers. Basically, anyone who ever dealt with databases and web site design can build on Hive with this tool.


To learn more about this, read What Is HAF.


Essentially this is allowing developers to focus upon their front end work and leaving the back end stuff to others. That is a major step forward in establishing standards. People will gravitate to those areas where there is the least resistance as long as the tools they need are provided. Hive might be on its way to creating this environment.

Fast And Fee-Less

This is one of the most powerful advantages that Hive has. While much of the discussion is centers around scalability as well as transaction fees, Hive is moving beyond these challenges. The blockchain can already scale to levels far higher than it presently needs and there areno direct fees for any transaction on Hive.

We already know, for many transactions, there are fees on the front end. This is compounded if the backend also carries with it a large financial impact. Even the new chains that are reducing the cost a great deal will find it difficult to operate social media features and games. People simply are not going to pay to engage in those types of operations. Making a replacement for Web 2.0 that is more costly does not seem to work.

Powerful Back End

There are many vying to provide developers with a powerful back end upon which to tie into. It where the industry is at the moment. Will Ethereum and all its forks be the standard? Is there the possibility that DPoS steps up? Could Bitcoin end up proving the maximalists right? Can new designs becomes accepted and take over?

We do not know the answers to these questions. However, while there is a lot of jostling taking place, it is vital to remember nothing is settled at this time. Just because Ethereum looks like it will be the winner, that does not mean it will overcome all of the challenges in a timely manner. That is not to say, of course, that it will fail or the token is going to tank. In reality, that is highly unlikely.

What we do know is that development communities tend to adopt a few different standards. In the past this tended to be company driven yet we do have examples with the Internet in general. There were a number of protocols over the years that developers standardized to.

Will the same thing happen with blockchain? It only makes sense. We can keep creating new standards with every new chain that rolls out. However, at a certain point, we end up spinning our wheels. There is a time where we need to move forward and develop solutions that people can utilize. That will not happen if most of the focus is solely upon back end innovation.

There is a lot taking place with Hive that is not evident to most. We come to find out there is discussion about collaboration between Hive and Telos. Obviously there are no details at this time but it does show how Hive is starting to expand its wings. Couple that with the @spknetwork announcement of integration with Peerplays and we can see how things are spreading.

At this point, there is still a lot of development left to take place. All levels require attention. That said, we are going to see some standards forming. Will Hive be one that people gravitate towards, effectively becoming one of the operating systems for Web 3.0?

It is an interesting concept to think about.


If you found this article informative, please give an upvote and rehive.

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Absolutely excellent analysis and personally I think that hive absolutely does have everything needed to springboard and replace Facebook and other social media.

Really appreciate your in-depth analysis thank you very much!

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From reading this I believe so. Hive has lots of potential and it’s obvious that lots of things can be achieved including being a blockchain operating system. My first few weeks joining Hive I underestimated and undervalued Hive because I subjected it to just blogging, but I know better now.

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Yes we are expanding into what is possible. There is a lot taking place that we are going to realize has enormous potential. The pieces are not in place yet but will be.

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In my short time in this space I can see the possible rapid-fire growth that will leave traditional Web 2.0 social media platforms gasping to catch their breath.

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Yeah a lot seems to be happening. It is slow when we look at things on a day by day basis but overall, they are moving rather quickly.

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pixresteemer_incognito_angel_mini.png
Bang, I did it again... I just rehived your post!
Week 75 of my contest just started...you can now check the winners of the previous week!
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The potential is very available.

Nice post dear.

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(Edited)

About the potentials, well, yes, hive has what it takes. Users are currently blinded by the reward system and care less about the real capabilities. It's literally a complete sustem on which anything can be built; applications and even a storage system, just a few tweaks and we can have a Hive OS...lol.

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Still need more infrastructure to be at that point but we are on our way. It is something that we can strive for. I am not sure if it is Hive alone or a joining with others.

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Excellent job as usual distilling a complicated subject into an easy to understand article. I think HIVE is currently under the radar, and the development of more successful Dapps on the HIVE blockchain will make a huge difference in its popularity.

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I believe Hive has what it takes to be an OS of sorts for social interactions and communities on Web 3.0.

Another area that is vital is ease of use. This is the entire premise behind the Hive Application Framework (HAF).

Agreed. I was amazed at how easy it becomes to get data sets for your apps.

I'm developing an HAF-based app that will allow developers to stream custom_json ops, which will make it easier for app developers to create dApps that leverage Hive.

There's a proposal up for it right now and it's almost funded: https://hive.blog/hive-139531/@imwatsi/proposal-hive-plug-and-play-as-a-haf-app

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I still believe hive has what It takes to usurp most of the heavy weights.

However, it seems that building a hype around certain projects proved to be more lucrative then building an actual product.

Sure, I'm willing to wait for 5 more years if necessary, but it's getting kinda annoying to see moons and similar Shitshows being ranked better.

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I think there is some momentum building. @splinterlands is making some noise. With what is in the works, a couple more apps showing up and we will have a nice package of things to discuss.

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Hive never looked better though.

Well see what August has for us

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Yes, it does. But it has to move faster because the competition is catching up offering an entire ecosystem and infrastructure of not only decentralized but distributed services making it theoretically more resistant to all forms of censorship and data tampering. Hive's biggest asset is the community by which others do not, yet

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Who is decentralized and distrubited?

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everyone look in the sales paper :)

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I think we could see a vast expansion in the number of L1 blockchains, not just through new technology (although there is already plenty of this going on) but through the replication of existing chains.

In the same way that we are currently seeing the rapid copy and paste of any new original projects (DEFI, NFTs etc) this could extend to teams setting up their own blockchains entire. We already see the start of it with Binance Smart Chain (and others) leveraging Eth.

The increased interoperability of blockchain ecosystems like Cosmos and Dot also make this more likely, I think. Set up your own blockchain but have access to the wealth / users / developers / dApps of compatible existing blockchains.

This will drive which blockchains are the OS of the future. Those which are most copied, or which have compatible building blocks with similar chains, will form the standard for development.

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I agree with you on that. We will see plenty of forks out there. However, what does that do for centralization? Are those projects that are forked going to be centralized? What we saw so far, that is the case.

It could change in the future but that appears the direction many take. Hard to get around that Founder's stake as we know.

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I think it will depend on the teams / companies launching the chains. We will potentially see a range of levels of decentralisation.

For example the NFL could launch a COSMOS chain with the 32 teams of the NFL each providing a node/validator. The chain could have NFL NFTs, team tokens, gambling dApps, sports prediction dApps, team related Defi, ticket dApps etc etc.

It's questionable if this would really be a "blockchain" in its fullest sense, and whether it would be simpler to just set up the same applications on a purely centralised basis. But as blockchain ideas gain traction, companies and organisations may step in with their half-way offerings.

You will then have fiat (guaranteed by the government), organisation tokens (with some level of guarantee from the issuing organisation) and decentralised, trustless coins.

Wider organisations (such as university groups) could look for a more decentralised approach with thousands of nodes across members in many countries and no overall control. It's arguable that this provides more decentralisation than an organically-grown L1 blockchain.

For many existing Pos or dPos L1 blockchains the level of decentralisation is unclear. Particularly since the ownership of tokens is anonymous.

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Nevertheless, it is impossible to ignore all the other chains that developed in response to the drawbacks on Ethereum. Solana, Binance Smart Chain, and a host of other "Ethereum Killers" evolved to offer what Ethereum originally promised, with more efficiency and lower cost.

For the problem with the fee of ETH, it is making barrier some cases and finding the solution can have the new new systems like BSC etc.

Smart contracts Capability, fee, technical issues and back end. All four are keys to check the strength. Thanks and nicely explained.

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Yes although, as we see with BSC, that is centralized. It works for now but will it be an issue in the future.

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There is a lot taking place with Hive that is not evident to most. We come to find out there is discussion about collaboration between Hive and Telos. Obviously there are no details at this time but it does show how Hive is starting to expand its wings. Couple that with the @spknetwork announcement of integration with Peerplays and we can see how things are spreading.

Not to mention the amazing bridge @brianoflondon built that begins the connection of Hive to the Lightning Network.

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Who makes the decision if we partner up with Telos which I guess must be witnesses at the moment ,but it would have to be voted in by the community as no one is in charge here.

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Well it isnt a partner as in a true partnership. Anyone is free to collaborate with whomever he or she wishes. You could strike up a collaboration with Vitalik if you wanted.

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This seems to me to be a very ambitious statement. I'm more conservative but according to the OSI-ISO definition of 7 layers of IT, I don't know exactly where I would place #Hive. Maybe the IEEE should upgrade this definition?
Maybe I could even agree, because in the first blockchain boom, somewhere around 2017, tokens were created, each of them performing a specific function or solving a problem, and not only financially, but many of them are also found in various logistics, transport, production chains, authentication, etc ...
Well, a lot has changed since then, some/most of them have gone out of business, others have been evaluated (Hive has done a fork), and a lot of new ones have emerged that want to solve some problems of our crazy society.
But the truth is, if we take the Hive blockchain as a base module, on top of which there is a second layer with a huge variety of applications that solve some problems... maybe there will be the 3rd layer... or even more layers... you could argue that Hive is a blockchain OS.

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It is not an ideal fit as mentioned in the article but a way to frame it in a way people understand.

Of course, if what you say about the different layers unfolds, which I have no idea if it will, then we might fit more into the true definition.

Either way, we are seeing a lot of stuff arising and changes being made. Where it all takes us is going to be interesting.

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Sure. I agree. All the big corporations feel threatened /FB, Twitter, Amazon, Google, etc... if we advertise #Hive and they perfidiously reduce these posts of ours or call them irrelevant on their own criteria, and the ranks are low... but if we started with the fact that the Hive is OS - and that's something new, then, in my opinion at least, they wouldn't have felt threatened at the beginning of this... maybe this is an initiative to move forward?

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Very informative and useful article and very well written as well! Keep up the good work! This was a truly fascinating analysis indeed! :)

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Well it seems like smart contracts are all over the place. I have been hearing about it on Hive side chain, Hive Engine and a bunch of other places. It just seems so confusing.

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It is good to see you keep covering these topics. I think the right way to add smart contracts to HIVE is through 2nd layer solutions. This is naturally going evolve HIVE into sort of a modular blockchain which is going to help us stand in stark contrast to most other projects in the market.

EOS has so much unrealized potential. Since we already share so much common with EOS, HIVE should be able to adopt many of the open source innovations on EOS while maintaining decentralization.

I would love to see you compare decentralization of BTC against HIVE. I'm convinced BTC is nowhere as decentralized as HIVE. We are probably the most decentralized blockchain on the planet right now.

!PIZZA

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I think Hive has been growing and the kind of updates, dapps and everything coming on Hive are awesome. I am just seeing the HAF. I quite agree with @imwatsi that Hive can be an OS for social interactions & communities. Moralis has done something pretty good like this that work across multiple chains, BSC, ETH, AVALANCHE and others. The collaboration on Hive is great so we will keep getting wonderful results.

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Well... I did not see HIve being the platform for DEFI, NFTs etc... but I accepted its niche is else where as a Blockchain social media platform.

Still, I am not abreast of all those developements your highlighted.

Even then even HIVE has has indirect DEFI with CUB Finance, but again its a HIVE community building that DEX on another chain that's centralised.

So... can't say HIVE will make an inroad into DEFI that's buzzing that can be done only by niche chains build for it according to me.

Also better not go that way because DEFI is different, it needs security of amart contracts etc ...HIVE will do better as social media platform.

Obviously, in gaming its made inroads, attracted attension...so it may progress into a sustainably popular chain through partnerships.

It also depends on the developers here you know...

Second, there will be competition, people are talking about social media platforms to be built in Ethereum and other chains?... but Ethereum is not a niche chain for it, even with its layer 2 helping chains, Matic etc...

I feel Ethereums niche is more on DEFI...

Other chains are also focusing on DEFI, NFT...

Maybe Hive can diversify into entertainment like Music...don't know.

I send a tip because I was too late to upvote the article...good day.

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