The genius of the platform
It is genius. It amazes me, as it amazes me when I turn on my car and it goes. I don't understand the mechanics of either. I only can report my experience. It's that experience that has a bearing on the attractiveness to other users.
When I go on Twitter (since Musk took over that is rare), I can like 50 posts and it does not cut into my ability to upvote more. I can like, comment, repost without limit. As a matter of fact the more I do that, the more likely I am to get noticed and to get 'followers'. Engagement leads to more engagement. The design of that platform is to get people to engage, to like, repost and comment.
Hive is different. The design induces the user to be selective in engagement. There is a wallet with a finite amount of 'mana'. Every time a user votes, mana is depleted. The finite nature of mana is an automatic constraint on engagement. I refer to mana as money because that is the currency on Hive. If we want lively engagement here, wouldn't it be good to have a system where users could 'like' a post and that action wouldn't deplete mana? The very fact of depletion is a disincentive to engagement.
We need more engagement. We need people to feel the charge--the surge of dopamine they get when they are on other social media platforms and they get 'liked'. It's that charge that holds them and brings them back.
If the token is not the primary lure, then a rise and fall in prices will not have a dramatic effect on user base.