The Sustainability Dilemma: Why Hive Needs External Revenue Streams

When I reflect on life and how rapidly the world has changed right before our eyes, it becomes clear that the rising cost of goods and services has escalated drastically over time. If you do not possess a robust source of income, you simply cannot outpace inflation.

Today, relying on a single revenue stream is no longer viable; given the high cost of living, it will inevitably leave you behind. When you can no longer meet your daily expenses, a slow sense of desperation sets in.

"Poverty" is often described as a mindset, but practically speaking, it begins the moment you are unable to cover your bills or properly feed yourself—let alone support a family. This is precisely why establishing multiple income streams is vital. This principle applies not only to individuals but also to businesses, firms, and social platforms alike. There is an absolute necessity to maintain more than one or two revenue streams.

Major social platforms like X rely on a combination of subscriptions and advertising revenue. The same applies to YouTube, Facebook, and many others. This reality often leaves me wondering why there are absolutely no advertisements running on Hive ecosystem platforms, even though Hive consistently pays out rewards to creators and heavily funds major projects.

While some of these supported projects do not seem to solve immediate problems, I am not entirely against funding them. However, I cannot help but question where Hive is headed without external revenue.

With continuous payouts to creators and ongoing financial support for Hive related projects none of which generate external revenue back into the ecosystem I worry about what the price of $HIVE will look like a year from now. Every time a creator cashes out, $HIVE is sold, which naturally weakens its price.

Furthermore, very few creators are buying additional Hive tokens; instead, approximately 70% to 80% of participants simply stake from their content rewards. As a result, organic buying pressure is weak. Trading volume across the major exchanges where the token is listed remains incredibly low. Given a year and six months' time, if Hive continues without an external revenue-generating system, where will the price of the token truly stand?