Is Hive Blockchain Stagnating or Just Evolving?
It's hard for me to write this, but I want to discuss this topic as directly as I can. It's not a reflection of what I plan to do, but an honest attempt to figure out how to make better place. I'm not the most active or have the largest holdings, but as a stake holder I want to have the discussion.
Every blockchain community eventually faces the same question: are we growing, or are we stagnating? Lately, there’s been a quiet but noticeable tension in the Hive ecosystem. Some long-time users have started to wonder if Hive is slowing down, if the drama between projects like Splinterlands and LEO is a symptom of deeper issues, or if this is simply part of the natural growing pains of a decentralized community.
The Splinterlands Factor
Splinterlands was once considered Hive’s crown jewel, a thriving game that put Hive on the map and brought a wave of users into the ecosystem. However over time, the relationship has felt more complicated. The game became its own powerhouse, growing beyond Hive, and some community members feel like it hasn’t given back enough. Others argue that without Splinterlands, Hive wouldn’t even be where it is today. This tension has created friction. Is Splinterlands part of Hive’s future, or is it pulling away and leaving the chain in its shadow? All I know is I'm not playing as much and my initial investment in alpha and beta cards has fallen.
The LEO Situation
Then there’s LEO, another flagship project that has tried to create real-world value for Hive through content, finance, and tokenomics experiments. But LEO hasn’t been without its drama either. Questions about direction, leadership, and community alignment have caused waves. For some, LEO represents the best of Hive with builders pushing forward, trying new things. For others, it feels like another silo, disconnected from the wider Hive mission.
Stagnation or Natural Cycles?
So is Hive stagnating? On the surface, user growth feels flat. Engagement in some communities has slowed. And when the biggest headlines around Hive are about internal drama, it doesn’t help the perception that things are moving forward. Decentralization isn’t clean or linear—it’s messy. Communities clash. Projects rise, stumble, and sometimes reinvent themselves. Hive has survived forks, infighting, and shifting markets before. What looks like stagnation might just be consolidation, a pause before the next wave of growth.
If Hive wants to avoid stagnation, it needs to do two things:
Refocus on onboarding: New users are the lifeblood of any chain. Without fresh perspectives, communities grow stale.
Bridge the silos: Splinterlands, LEO, and countless other projects don’t need to compete—they need to interconnect. The real strength of Hive is its network effect, not isolated ecosystems.
All I know is Hive isn’t dead. Whether it’s stagnating or setting up for its next chapter depends on how the community handles its internal drama and whether it can find common ground again.
I'd add a third point, we need some consensus about what is and isn't acceptable here and then some follow through with it. We see way too much infighting over what is considered abuse and what isn't and no one can seem to come to an agreement on it. So downvote wars start and people get pushed away from the platform. Some rightfully so and others not so much.
Great point! I know there are several different philosophies over the years. I tend to believe paying for votes is bad, but we all kind of do it with delegations and SBI so I'm no purist. I think a town hall or a vote should be held to make a guidelines more defined and well known. I hate to say it but traditional social media has policies and guidelines.
I think also probably there needs to be greater effort that should be given to the publicity of the hive Blockchain on social media actually
That's one way we need a common movement of on boarding. We need coordinated efforts on different social media platforms that don't feel spammy.
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The issue with splinterlands is that people did tons of contests to farm hive and then sell them for splinterlands asset... As if hive was the free money poket... So I can't really blame the arguing over this... There needs to be more advertising and easier onboard
This is an important discussion. I agree that focusing more on user onboarding and building stronger connections between projects can really help Hive grow. Every project adds value, but working together will make the whole ecosystem much stronger.
All people must come together and make this platform famous in local places, only then will it become famous in the world. In my opinion, the downvote system also needs to be changed