Who owns hive and why it feel like we don't
I may be putting a target on my back a little, but if there’s one mission I have on this blog, it’s to be true to myself. I have thoughts in my head that want to come out, and this time, they’re about the always controversial DHF
Let’s start with the question:
Who owns Hive?
The answer is both simple and complex. We all do, but sometimes it hardly matters.
good ol' George Orwell said it best:
“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”
The humanist in me has resisted that truth for as long as I can remember. But I’m getting older, and reality has a way of wearing you down. Equality, no matter the “ism” we dress it in, may simply be out of reach for us simple humans.
Hive is "decentralized" — but decentralization is an ideal more than anything. All crypto projects exist somewhere on the spectrum, and no system is perfectly balanced. We may all own Hive, we may all have some skin in the game, but equality in influence is not something we’re achieving, and maybe not something we ever can.
Circumstances shape everything
Years ago, I’d write bitter posts about people “dumping” tokens and driving the price down. My indignation felt righteous at the time, but looking back I'm a bit embarrassed.
Things changed when I learnt of the passing of a Hivean user who relied solely on blog earnings to feed herself. It’s hard to condemn selling when survival is the reason after all.
Everyone has their reasons to sell. But this reality has also slowed the growth of Hive’s middle class. Yes, there are dolphins and orcas, but most of the ocean is minnows — many with reputations higher than mine too.
The votes that count
Here’s where it gets uncomfortable: Hive has a stake centralization problem. But we were never going to avoid it.
Wealth accumulation is, by definition, an imbalance in distribution. Those who can save and power up grow their influence. Those taking too many punches to the face adjust their hopes to reality.
This isn’t judgment, its just observation.
The result is that most voices are quiet. Hive’s democracy depends more on the benevolence of the powerful than on algorithmic fairness.
Some will argue this is better. Those with much to lose tend to think long-term. Having skin in the game means the biggest holders also have the most to gain if Hive thrives. There’s logic in that.
A while back, @pharesim made a “democracy calculator” showing how much your Hive Power translates into representation. Playing with that tool made the imbalance crystal clear to me.
A tangent — and why it matters here
Think about how pharmaceutical companies work in the US. Many of the biggest names are financially successful beyond measure, yet much of their R&D is subsidized by taxpayers.
Don't know who coined this phrase, but it fits like a glove:
“Socializing the cost while privatizing the gains.”
It’s not a perfect parallel, but keep it in mind as we talk about Hive’s inflation model and the DHF.
Inflation is a tax
Hive inflates its currency to fund servers, apps, and development. Call it what you want — it’s essentially a tax on all stake holders.
I’m fine with that because it’s voluntary. I’m here by choice, I use Hive daily, I build on it. But taxes, voluntary or not, should come with accountability, right?
Enter the DHF
Not long ago, I read a post by @blanchy criticizing how Value Plan allocates funds. The tone was sharp, but the questions it raised were fair.
I’m not here to bash Value Plan. I know the people involved, and I know they work hard. But I do think much of the frustration comes from a lack of measurable transparency.
- Where are the KPIs?
- Who has them?
- Where can we see them?
- If they exist, why is this not common knowledge?
Even as an eight-year Hivean, I sometimes look at the numbers and feel lost. And it’s not just Value Plan that confuses me— some DHF-funded projects aren’t even open source. How does that fit with our ideals?
This is where the pharma parallel comes back: costs are spread across the community, but in some cases, the gains are kept behind closed doors.
In conclusion
I may be venting, and I may be pissing in front of a fan, but this comes from love — love for Hive and its community too.
If I didn’t believe in where we’re headed, I’d have sold long ago. But I can’t ignore the moments when I feel in the dark, a little confused, and frankly a little frustrated.
I’ve invested time, love, and money here. I think it’s fair to ask for clarity.
If I’m wrong, teach me. If I’m ignorant, help me understand.
Much love
MenO
I think this is one of the flaws in the way we characterize Hive. It's a carry over from the broader crypto community's speculator mindset. We all want to be able to dump at some point unless you're a technology purist. Hive's benefit is that we do have a lot of tech purists though.
I still think that it is important to encourage people to accumulate power (Hive Power), but I don't think shaming them for selling is the right way to do that.
i don't think like that anymore, i promise.. circumstances are very different for different folks.
Oh I know. I'm just saying you're not the only one. I'd say that most of us have had similar outlooks atvone point or another.
Here is the answer to that question:
Together these 50 accounts would probably outvote everyone else and top 10 have giant vote weight...
I think, the top 3 can outvote everyone else and they belong to our known blocktrades, so literally he owns this place ?
Are they for sure blocktrades? I saw an old article where aggroed speculated that it might be Dan: https://hive.blog/freedom/@aggroed/the-twelve-million-dollar-miner-who-is-freedom
So people don't know who is freedom ? That's insane man...I thought it is @blocktrades
blocktrades probably knows who freedom is even if it is not him :)
there's been some movement since the old days, but only some...
Going to my forth year on hive and I still do feel very confused at somethings....
Maybe it's due to my own lack of diligence in finding out...
The app that pharesism created for hive power, can you post a link perhaps?
ill look about... it has to be in one of my chats on discord.
Thanks
I mean, Dan Larimer wrote a book "More Equal Animals" - which goes into his underpinnings for the ideal democratic process. Larimer, was of course, the key dev of the Steem model from which we forked.
I too enjoyed Blanchy's ramblings. They were good. Their Open Comedy Mic post parodying the research was better :)
If truth is what paints a target on one's back, that's not an acceptable state of affairs, and that is an autocracy or a dictatorship.
For me, I'll just keep plodding away, and doing stuff for me. If others like it, fantastic, if they don't, then...
there's always a political cost to asking question... but its coming to the point to where there's enough of us on the side of confusion.
There's probably a bigger political cost to staying silent. Keep asking questions :)
I'll help you (respectfully) poke the bear :)
Thank you for writing this.
I’ve been feeling the disparity between ideals spouted around hive and actualities.
The idea of decentralization and that we are all part CEO of Hive and that we own our own digital footprint… it all sounds great.
We will see how it all goes, but I think it’s time for the middle class to start getting real.
Banding together, creating pods that collectively equal another whale.
the middle class has come a long way butt... but I thought it would have been a lot faster- the rebalancing, that is.
Banding together .....
Exactly, and organized very well, and very smart. That's where The Matrix-8 Solution comes in.
I wite a little about #matrix8 here: The Good Doctor & Community Governance
This place felt like home man. I fell in love with Hive. Every minute of the day, I asked myself for years...How can I add to the community?
I drank the kool aid of 'decentralization', I towed the company line. But it's gone man, the soul of this place is dead. It's an echo chamber, that silences anyone who gets out of order.
And now when you sell any tokens you get the KE ratio telling the world how horrible you are.
It's no longer home. Can it be fixed? Sure, but the powers that be won't like the solution.
there's always going to be a downside and an upside to a decentralized system. In my view, disparity is impossible to avoid. I hear your frustration, but don't let any of these negative thoughts dominate your soul brother.
Doesn't the KE ratio explain why blocktrades has such a bigger pull on his votes? Cause everyone else dumped their stake?
hmmz
in part yes... and apparently it can't be helped, there is no way to "fix it"
I mean there is and it's quite simple and relatively cheap looking at hive's price history. Any time in the last few years it's probably been the best point to enter. I'd understand it if it pumped a lot and blocktrades would refuse to sell any, then yes it's a lot harder to decentralize stake, but even so it's a lot easier compared to others cause over 30% of the rewards pool keeps going towards author rewards and diluting whales like blocktrades.
The open door is there, I don't disagree with that observation. Making people go through it, that's "the trick" I don't know about. I mean, I preach this place on the daily, flaws and all. But making somebody think long term is not an easy task.
It could be, and its quite possibly going to happen. That you and I will be considered "the oligarchs" in the future, and the big whales will go dormant completely, for their own safety.
People just don't think longterm generally, by people i mean majority anymore these days. We do of course have many here who do and they generally do well. I've seen minnows back from 2016-17 reach six digit hp balances just from posting and curating and in a few years many of them may reach 7 digit ones if they keep at it. It's one of the benefits of staying staked, you're actively diluting the liquid hive on exchanges.
It's not like ETH is much different these days, many lock it up to earn 3-4% yearly apr from staking rewards, but somehow with a ton more usecases to your HP here some just don't wanna learn/understand that long term is the goal and current price doesn't matter much beyond how much hbd you earn from posting.
It's fair to ask, but it's not unfair to not get answers :) That is how this chain operates.
Thanks for the mention @meno . I remember you from @helpie which got me going in Steem back in the day and I thank you for that. I sold all but 1000 HP due to the same thinking as you right now. I am just here as a hobby so when everything goes tits up,I will be glad I purchased a pair of head phones or a laptop from my posting rewards. If the DHF funds were allocated to a proper Centralised marketing company who know what they are doing rather than a pack of amateurs where it is clear greed has taken over, I would be happy to increase my stake again. I do not blame the people in the poorer Latin American companies that get $50,000 US dollars for 2025 alone to swing on a few bars to promote Hive. I would be trying to do the same and better my life. I do not blame the wells guys who have doubled the price of a borehole in recent years. Oh by the way , (the minute the borehole people leave , the natives steal the metal). 50% of boreholes in Africa stripped of their metal and most fall into disrepair Guardian report on NGO's funding Boreholes Or the guys that are paid vast amounts to attend these numerous crypto conferences that do not promote Hive in the slightest. I do not blame the rally driver and his wingman who lets be honest are living out their dream albeit coming last in every rally and spending a fortune of the Communities funds doing it. I do not even blame the project managers. I actually don't know why they do it if they are not receiving payment because the whole Community thinks they are on the take. Personally I don't think they are. I do stop the buck at these three guys however who are the top 3 votes for Valueplan.
Do they ,I wonder, ever get the feeling that they are being hustled?? Scammed? It's not a nice feeling. It's a bit embarrassing to be honest. I got scammed once or twice and its not nice. These are intelligent people here who went to court to battle with Justin Sun but it sure the hell looks like they are being scammed/hustled from where I am standing. But it is the whole Hive Community that is being hustled. I am not on Discord groups so do not know the politics and the dev groups , whales etc but what am I missing here?? Something does not feel right about all this??
I asked a question about some of these users that were receiving funds and it was rebutted straight away. I never heard of these users before and I have been on Hive/ Steem for years. Maybe they are not in my circles but I know people from around the world on here. They did not post that often but they were in fact regulars on 3speak. If you go to 3speak right now and compare the list of recipients on my post that received funds in 2025. It may be a coincidence that some projects are video content of the actual events but I found there was a stark contrast between that of say a Peakd page, Ecency or a @leofinance homepage. Total different clientele and people. 3speak is mainly South American. Valueplan funding is skewed to South American. If it wasn't for the rally car and its enormous outflow that is based in Europe the percentages would be damming. If I was the LeoFinance guys who I have enormous respect for because they actually onboard alot more to Hive that threespeak, I would be going mad about this. Anyway that's my opinion. Its great you posted this by the way. The more awareness the better.
I remember you from the helpie days as well.
You know, I've not met a single person (yet), that is for the rally car. Maybe I've not looked hard enough, but it seems like its not a popular thing at all, and yet it keeps on keeping on.
Having had a ride in that car I may be biased :)
that is what i call a fun fact! hahaha
I’m sure it’s great but if it was your company Steve would you be giving them the guts of 80k so far this year for a last place and a DNF . Let’s get real here . We all think it’s great flying through the air . Until we get the invoice
In the world of marketing that probably doesn't even cover drinks for a team, but it has got the Hive brand to lots of eyes. I've heard that half of all marketing spending is wasted, but nobody knows which half :)
As marketing pro I could say something but I will not :-)
Despite the fact that there are a couple of huge stakeholders that can influence the decisions on this blockchain on their own, it still is decentralized.
There are quite some orca's and dolphins that can have a huge impact when they collaborate. But if you want change, it does need to be organized.
I've seen the rants about the DHF and money that has been spend on projects that don't really contribute to the growth of this blockchain (at least, that is what a group of people thinks). I do agree with what @blanchy says in his comment, that it would be a good idea to allocate some funds to hire a marketing company who know what they are doing to give Hive the boost it needs. After all, most of us are just a couple of hobbyists 😊
Maybe 'we' should make a DHF proposal for this 😉
its not a bad idea... its not a field im versed in, but im sure there's a hivean who is versed on marketing.
Hive is an imperfect system, but I still prefer it to other social media. We have huge whales who hold the power and rancho/haejin deciding who is on trending. I think this could even out eventually if we can just get some real growth that spreads the power a bit more.
I know a lot of people don't like where DHF funds go, but most of us can't control that. It is clear that it is not doing much to help Hive grow. I concentrate on things I can do here. There are cool creative people posting who get hardly any comments apart from mine.
@blanchy makes some claims about what happens to boreholes and I hope @mcsamm can let us know how they do in the long term. These communities need that water, so I hope they look after their installations.
that claim is rather concerning, and I hope its not correct in this case. if not for the expenses being wasted, more so for the people who depend on the water.
There's a lot of well-meaning projects that do not really deliver to those in need, but this one has local knowledge and involvement that ought to help.
It is really amazing to witness the improvements that these boreholes have made to the lives of these people in Ghanaian villages. Both Hive and these communities have significantly benefitted from this initiative, and we are very much hoping it will lead to many more, not only helping improve lives but also demonstrating to the world the absolute power of using the blockchain in our lives every day.
In the meantime, we have set up a group of people who are direct representatives from each of those communities that have benefitted from the boreholes to provide the blockchain with daily news from their town. After we have engaged them in the basics of Hive, we will continue to help them to update us all daily and show how they can keep other young people in their communities involved on Hive.
However, there is a plan of action to start monitoring all these boreholes monthly to see if any of them need maintenance or repairs. In the meantime, we have not seen any damage or serious problems from these communities at all. These communities are just continually expressing their happiness and asking us if we provide more support or can provide some educational support for the young people while they are in school in these communities.
While we plan to commence the 23rd borehole, we continue to assure everyone we are reaching the world with Hive through this really powerful life-changing initiative, and everyone is happy to see we are using the blockchain technology to facilitate it. Thanks again for your support to help us be there @steevc
These projects do need to be followed up so they give benefits in the long term and it's good to hear you are doing that. It is understandable that people want to know the money is being well spent.
Cheers.
We are committed to ensuring that every penny spent on the borehole is worth it.
Even though I've been frustrated with the concentration of HP, I've always looked at it as I do a lot of crypto projects. The earliest adopters almost always have a FAR bigger bag than later adopters. The benefit of Hive is that the "lower class" can still help each other grow, even if it takes a (long) while. I still believe in the idea of it and I see it getting better, but we're still very early days and activity is meh (as in actual activity and the quality of that activity) most days. There's no good comparison to Hive in the crypto space, we just need to wait for everyone else to find that out.
https://x.com/jewellery_all/status/1956080746294337786
Hey, I just used that phrase in a comment! Well, paraphrased. Kind of the same topic, too.
I haven't had time to look into how DHF works, yet. But in general - HIVE is more or less a mirror of the real world. Yes, everyone has a vote, but I don't know any democracy where those votes aren't manipulated by those who have a lot of power (and money). And not all of them do it for social profit. I don't know that many whaled on HIVE, but the argument I encountered was mostly: "My stake is so high, I will always do what's best for HIVE, if not, I'd shoot myself in the foot."
The other mirror of the real world is the egoism that people show, wanting to exploit HIVE at the maximum for their own personal good, costing others. That's perfectly mirroring the state of the world, unfortunately. We will always have some of those, it's unfortunate, but normal - where money is to be made, leeches appear.
Still, I think that there are cases that can be supported, like the one you mentioned. If someone creates great content, more (HIVE) power to them! That's not leeching, that's contributing with content and being paid for it, like a normal job. I don't see the problem in that.
Now, I'll dig into the DHF stuff another day. My HIVE-Learning-List is already too long as it is...
https://x.com/lee19389/status/1956156462469931065
#hive #posh
I hold a strong conviction that it is possible this change the current power structure on Hive. It would require the use of a separate COMMUNITY Governance System (not a part of Hive). I write a little about it here: The Good Doctor & Community Governance