I don't think being FEELESS is a feature that sells a chain anymore in 2026...
Optional ads, like 3Speak has at present, seems innovative and had my support. 'Paid to view' seems a novel idea.
Fees do not get my support because we cannot even imagine how it may affect development. It could make a huge difference in the practicality of developing a DAPP in the first place.
It's my opinion that HIVE/STEEM should be promoted as a utility token. Having no fees on transactions gives it greater attraction in that regard.
I think fees in 2026 is honestly not a promotional edge anymore. The biggest promotion is price and we know this. Also 2026 crypto users do not really care about utility anymore like in 2021, I understand that it affects a lot of things, but revenue generation is something we should consider at some point, and find creative ways to do it.
By my understanding Splinterland is doing a lot of heavy lifting on HIVE. Imagine a DAPP that is yet to be developed that could be even bigger than Splinterland decides not to go with HIVE due to fee costs. We would never even know what had been missed.
I understand all these, but honestly, there are no decisions to move the chain forward that would be easy, and these sacrifices are necessary for the longevity and progress of the chain. I believe if prices are decent, no one will care about fees, and even splinterlands won't either..at the moment, Hive is more beneficial to splinterlands than the other way round