Hello Hive Community,
After almost four incredible years on the Hive blockchain, I’m thrilled to announce that I’ve taken the plunge—I am now a Hive Witness. This isn’t just a title; it’s a personal commitment to contribute to our decentralized future and ensure that Hive remains a vibrant, resilient platform for all of us.
Image below shows the first block my witness has processed today!
Why I Chose to Become a Witness
You might be wondering: what exactly is a witness? In simple terms, a witness is someone who runs the Hive Blockchain software. We are the ones producing blocks, validating transactions, and even publishing the HIVE price feed that keeps payouts fair and transparent. In a system built on delegated proof of stake, our role is crucial, and the rewards in HIVE POWER that come with it only serve as a small token of appreciation for the service witnesses provide.
In a decentralized network like Hive, the more people who step up to validate transactions and secure the chain, the stronger and more robust our ecosystem becomes. That’s why I decided to set up my very own witness node—to add another reliable pillar to our community and help push Hive to even greater heights.
The Technical Backbone: My Witness Node
I believe that behind every great witness is a robust piece of technology. My node runs on a high-performance server configured as follows:
Operating System: Linux (Ubuntu 22.04)
Software version: 1.27.7 (which is the latest stable one right now)
Processor: Standard L8as v3 with 8 vCPUs
Memory: 64 GiB RAM
Storage: Premium SSD LRS, 1024 GiB
These specifications ensure that my node can handle high transaction volumes and maintain optimum performance, contributing to a smoother, more secure blockchain experience for everyone.
About Me
I’m a software engineer hailing from the Pacific Northwest—right in the heart of the Seattle area, fondly known as “Microsoft land.” My career began with Microsoft technologies, but for the last five years, I’ve been immersed in the world of Linux VMs and Kubernetes. This technical evolution perfectly aligns with the ethos of Hive—a community built on decentralization, open-source collaboration, and continuous innovation.
I first discovered Hive through Splinterlands back in August 2021. Although I dabbled with a few posts about the game, it wasn’t until I read an inspiring post by @azircon in 2024—pointing out the surprisingly low holdings among Splinterlands players—that I decided to engage more with the community. That post lit a fire in me to build up my Hive Power and become more actively involved, eventually leading me to this moment.
BTW, there is an updated post by Azircon from elven days ago that you should read: Hive Holding of Splinterlands Players
My Commitment to the Hive Community
I know that many of the top twenty witnesses have long histories and multiple projects under their belts. While I’m still relatively new to the Hive community, I believe that fresh perspectives are essential for growth. Here’s what I bring to the table:
- Decentralization: By running my own node, I add another layer of security and redundancy, helping to spread out the responsibility of block production.
- Long-Term Commitment: I have pledged to keep my node running without powering down—at least until the next Bitcoin halving, which is estimated to take place in March 2028, and the bullish cycle that follows. My account history speaks for itself—I have never powered down, and I intend to keep it that way.
- Support for Quality Content: As my Hive Power continues to grow, I plan to use it not just for personal gain but to actively support quality content and genuine creators on Hive. I’m particularly passionate about the communities I know best, like Splinterlands and Actifit, and I’m eager to explore and support new areas as I learn more about them.
- Transparency and Trust: I value every single vote from the community. My goal is to serve not only as a technical node but as a trustworthy steward of the Hive network—one that listens to and works for the interests of every stakeholder.
My first earnings as a Hive Witness, yes I know not much for a day, but I am just starting:
Projected earnings for my current ranking are fairly low. @quochuy publishes an excellent monthly witness earnings summary and my current projected earnings are something like this:
I know that we already have a top twenty Splinterlands witness @yabapmatt so while I am still going to support Splinterlands community on Hive I am definitely branching out and learning about other communities and great content creators in addition to the great authors that I already read such as @tarazkp, @cryptoandcoffee, @bozz and others.
How You Can Help
I am asking for your support in the form of a witness vote. Your vote isn’t merely a technical endorsement—it’s a vote for decentralization, for innovation, and for a future where every voice on Hive is heard. With your backing, I can continue running my node with the highest standards of performance and reliability, and together, we can push Hive to even greater levels of success.
You have 30 votes and voting for a witness doesn't impact your curation vote, it is basically free for you.
You can cast your vote using either of the following methods:
- Via PeakD: Visit PeakD Witnesses, enter “seattlea” in the Name Search, or scroll down to my current position (122 / 110) and simply click the Vote button on the right.
- Via Hive Signer: Vote for seattlea
Special Thanks
I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to a couple of incredible members who have already supported my journey:
Mahdi Yari (@mahdiyari): Your technical insights and support were instrumental in setting up my witness node—you even cast my very first witness vote.
Solominer (@solominer): Your substantial backing, as my first whale vote, truly put me on the map. I’m deeply grateful for your trust.
Solominer is also a Hive witness and a Whale, I am just a Dolphin right now, but hope to grow to at least an Orca.
Solominer has enough Hive Staked to be considered a Whale, that kind of commitment should have him rated higher than his current position in 55th place considering that some of the top twenty witnesses are Orcas and even Dolphins. It is understandable that staked Hive is not the only parameter in determining the top 20 but it seems like he should be ranked higher:
Note: The icon that I circled in the image above indicates witness staked Hive. Purple is a Whale, Red is an Orca, Green is a Dolphin, Blue is a Minnow and Yellow is a Red Fish the smallest stakers.
Please Vote
Please join me in this journey by casting your vote. Together, we can help ensure that Hive continues to thrive as a decentralized, innovative, and community-driven platform.
- Via PeakD: Visit PeakD Witnesses, enter “seattlea” in the Name Search, or scroll down to my current position (122 / 110) and simply click the Vote button on the right.
- Via Hive Signer: Vote for seattlea
Thank you for your time, your support, and for believing in our shared vision for a brighter Hive future.
In solidarity,
seattlea
Now this is more like it :)
Let us change your ranking, shall we.
As long as you follow the high ethical standards that I know you have, you will have my vote.
Thank you! And if I break some rules please let me know and I will adjust right away. I am still learning about Hive...
Azircon has changed the mind to a lot of us. Congrats for the new journey you are beginning! #Vonak
Thank you beffeater, the three of you moved me up by 13 places!
BTW, we used to be in the same guild in Splinterlands: THGaming Brawlers :)
Yeah! I will be a THGaming Brawler forever in my heart.
Well done mate! You have my vote :)
Oh wow! Thank you Taraz!
I voted for you today. I come in at number 6 on the top voters page. I hope I drop to number 66 as lots more people vote for you!
I am impressed by this post. You're a Software Engineer (me too, in the past, but lately I just do whatever projects I want), you have tons of energy and good will towards HIVE, you're into Splinterlands (I was in their kickstarter at the beginning), and you indicate 100% APR for HBD!
So if you get in the top 20, HBD interest might go back to 20% as the median value is the one that becomes the official rate. I mention this so hopefully people reading this, or seeing your 100% number on the witness page won't get too excited, or scared, about that number :)
Anyway, followed and reblogged, and I wish you well in your witness journey and your Hive Adventure as well!
Thank you. Your kind words, vote and encouragement are definitely appreciated!
I am still learning a lot and getting into top twenty would have been amazing, but I don't expect that as there are many other witnesses that have done more for Hive community. But I do hope to keep moving up in the ranks and will stack all the Hive I receive.
@topcomment
Your comment is upvoted by @topcomment
Info - Support - Discord
Welcome!
To your question about stake, we do not use the same account we post on to sign the blocks. So you might say I am 5x orca, but my witness @synergy.witness looks like a redfish.
I am thrilled to get more activity on this list! Welcome again, please ask if you have any questions.
Oh! That totally makes sense! Thank you for explaining that to me. I was running around this morning like a headless chicken. Drove our kid to school, did a couple work meetings and fixed my witness price feed all in under two hours :)
Just voted for your witness, looks like you are one of the only two witnesses to run 1.27.8. That is cool, when should we upgrade the version. I am running 1.27.7 but others even in top 20 seem to run much older versions... (even 1.27.0)
I got you bro 🍻
welcome to the 90's
Thank you that is really appreciated!
Looks good, though you need to get your price feed working.
Hmm... Any tips what it might be?
I use this...
https://github.com/Jolly-Pirate/pricefeed
If you need help let me know
Thank you! Now the price feed is working :)
Great.. I see it now too.
One chance I made to my price feed config was reducing the refresh time. I reduced mine by half so the pricefeed does not go red on the peakd witness page.
Oh that makes sense. I will implement that as well, probably will wait until I get the next block just to be safe :)
How do you feel about programming alternative oracles for pricefeed?
The jolly pirate price feed works great for me.. so I see no issues replacing it.
Congrats on your first block! I’m setting up a Hive and Hive Engine witness as well at the moment!
🤞 good luck!!🍀
!HOPE
!BBH
!ALIVE
!INDEED
Please stop putting these fake token calls. They just increase the spam on this blockchain
Why do you think they are fake? And since they are no longer publishing comments, they only add a transaction. (open to suggestions btw!)
Thank you! I am not sure about Hive Engine, I will stick with Hive node for now. Too much to learn right away :)
Yes, which is one of the greatest thing I believe of being a (HE) witness, all those new things you can learn!
Have fun! You got my vote for sure (just voted ;-) )!
!BBH
!STRIDE
!LOLZ
!WEIRD
!DOOK
!MMB
!INEEDSLEEP
Thank you for voting! I might consider that as well, I just need to make sure I have Hive witness running flawlessly for a while before I get into anything else. I also anticipate SPS chain validators launch to be coming up soon and I have a license for that as well so will try to run a node there as well.
Interesting, that SPS validator! But you need a license for it???
Yes you need a license for it just don't buy it directly from the Splinterlands Shop as it is $5,000 there:
https://splinterlands.com/shop/licenses
Get one from Hive Engine it is $178 there: https://hive-engine.com/trade/LICENSE
Thanks for sharing! - @azircon
Happy to welcome new witness here. Welcome to the family!
Thank you!
Welcome!
+1!!
Do you have a discord handle?
As requested
https://peakd.com/c/hive-180505/created
Yes, it is seattlea_thg
I sent you a DM with some info