The Coinbase hack was deeply concerning and a good argument against KYC. It's usually worse than the "hackee" claims it is and I think that's probably the case here. I was listening to the JRE podcast (#2311 with Jeremie & Edouard Harris) and they were discussing how these types of "hacks" play out—often times they're state-sponsored. Adversaries are constantly testing to find weak points until they find something they can exploit. I think we're seeing an end to pure system hacks and a move to more sophisticated "hybrid" forms of hacks where employees/contractors are compromised instead of or in addition to a good old-fashioned system hack.
As someone who's been in this ecosystem almost nine years I think Hive is healthy, overall, in 2025. Us old-timers remember when post payouts could nearly pay mortgage payments. Hive is definitely not that lucrative anymore but compared to other platforms, like Medium for example, it's infinitely better. I monetized on Medium a few months ago and have made a whopping $.33 in revenue for about twenty original articles. Here, I consistently average between $8 to $12 for each post payout and if you utilize the HBD staking you're receiving 15% APR on what you make. Not a bad deal at all.
Some people who've been here for a while and are worried about how little they make here need only venture out and try other platforms to help put things into proper perspective. Hive, historically, hasn't been a place that helps sell books for me. During my recent book launch only one presale originated from this platform. It is what it is though, I sell my books through other channels. Hive has been a wonderful creative incubator for me, the best I've found, bar none. I develop my ideas and content for books here and get paid for it. Hive revenue helps pay for the publishing costs. During the first few years everyone was dreaming of "mass adoption" for this platform but sometimes the best prayers are the unanswered ones. I agree that slow, organic, growth makes the most sense. Our biggest hurdle is public education.
I'm sure such systems are under constant attack and I don't envy the security teams.
I will always say that anyone can earn something on Hive, but it may not be a lot. I remember $10k posts when I was making nothing. In the early days it was harder to hit the threshold to pay out. I do okay now and can give out nice votes.
I've bought a fair few books and much from Hive people. It is a fairly small audience though. If we had millions of active users it would be a different place. I think we have a better chance by focusing on niche communities for now. There are some hubs of activity in various places, but not many active Hivers where I am.
!BEER
For sure, it reminds me of the Matrix scene where thousands of Mr. Smiths are attacking Neo.
Hive is ever-evolving, the content creator demographics shift as token prices fluctuate. I'm noticing way less active users from North America/Europe in my feed this past year. I'm not sure if this is just my own perception or not. It seems as token prices drop the user base shifts to countries where post payouts can still move the budgetary needle in the right direction.
I've purchased a lot too throughout the years. I remember that eBay clone (the name of which escapes me) that was once on the Steem blockchain. I think that marketplace fizzled out after a few years.
We each have to decide what is worth our time. I enjoy Hive and so keep coming back. I have seen a lot of people getting local businesses to take crypto and that has to be good for Hive. I am just not sure how it would work here.
One hundred percent. I still enjoy it too, the day I stop feeling that enjoyment will be the day I bow out. Shake Shack here in the States is taking BTC now. There's no way I'd spend BTC to buy a burger though and end up a meme someday (like the BTC pizza-day guy). Lol.
I also used Coinbase in the past.
Nowadays I am not using it. But I use other exchanges, wallets, where KYC is required.
I very rarely store funds on any of these exchanges and wallets (usually only for the time of exchange or withdraw).
But reading that the personal data of the users are leaked, including ID cards, is honestly very scary.
Looks like using services, which requires KYC is actually dangerous, and not necessarily because of the possible loss of invested money.
Yeah, it's crazy. The identity/personal data-theft aspect of these hacks are far more concerning than just losing coins.
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