Closing 2025, what was built when nobody was watching
The last day of the year is not always about announcing big numbers.
Sometimes it is about stopping, looking back at the road we traveled, and recognizing what was truly built.
This post is just a short summary of some of the activities we worked on.
In 2025, Hive Creators made a conscious decision, to move slower in order to understand better. In a year shaped by economic uncertainty across Latin America, we prioritized sustainability, efficiency, and preparation, even when the natural impulse was to accelerate.
That approach defined the entire year.
Instead of chasing immediate growth, we focused on strengthening the foundation. We optimized our resource allocation and extended our runway to 12 months, while building educational and multimedia assets designed to keep adding value to the ecosystem for at least 15 months, using the 2025 budget.
What we learned in 2025 (and how we measured it)
A large part of the year was dedicated to learning before scaling. We tested narratives, studied cultural differences across communities, and documented, in a simple way, which context can have the greatest impact in LATAM. This process turned 2025 into a year of strategic validation.
What we discovered
Throughout the year we went through several stages while designing strategies for how Hive could scale. First, we tried to rely on the old narrative of a "fast and scalable blockchain". By doing that, we isolated the ecosystem, and we failed.
With deeper research, and by connecting our approach with recent Hive upgrades, plus conversations and references shared by several Hive Builders, and with guidance and references from @blocktrades, we were able to establish a clearer vision, and one that is more connected to the future of Hive development.
The starting point was this report:
Research and North Star Metric Report
In 2025 we decided to test a more integrative vision, Hive not only as a blockchain, but as solid technology for a new generation of digital identity on the internet.
Current problems we identified
- We follow general crypto ecosystem trends without having a clearly defined own narrative.
- We are mixing the message between the blockchain and the dApps running on top of it. This mix dilutes the message, because 90% of the dApps on Hive do not do marketing and have not defined a clear positioning.
- We promote Hive as technology, but without showing tangible evidence of success, we do not highlight enough users or developers who use Hive to build content or products through its different interfaces.
Actions we started to execute
One of the key actions was to define a clear target segment (developers, content creators, etc.) and design a message that is clear, useful, and differentiated for that group, instead of trying to speak to everyone with the same narrative, while running different tests per segment.
Example narrative for one segment:
- We are an API-first blockchain to build apps on blockchain without learning a new language
That led us to questions that are still open, and that we now want to answer with practical work:
- Where are the practical examples connected to the LATAM community that allow someone to deploy an app in minutes?
- Where are the Spanish practical documents and analysis on how to build your first app on Hive?
Among other narratives.
A strong bet, Hive Builders
We reinforced the Hive Builders narrative. We believe the foundation for 2026 should be builders. This goes slightly beyond our original plan, but today we see it as the key piece to generate greater impact, so many more Hivers can participate in marketing initiatives through practical activities, and also through educational programs for builders.
If we say "Are we not the blockchain managed by humans?", then we must help builders increase their impact through practical, open, and replicable activities.
Metrics that reflect that work
- Narratives tested: 12 versions across different cultural contexts
- Educational and multimedia assets produced: 600+ reusable pieces
- Communities / countries impacted: Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina, Ecuador
- Community engagement initiatives activated: 10+
- Collaborators and allies connected during the year: 10+
The work delivered
During 2025, the focus was on executing foundational work that is not always visible, but that defines future impact.
Validating Hive's core narrative for LATAM
Guide to recent activities in Spanish
Documentation and proposal work
Lightweight Hive whitepaper
We produced a lightweight version of the whitepaper that has not been published yet, since we still need to make adjustments by integrating the latest Hive blockchain upgrade.
Technical content about HBD
An exchange requested a technical document about HBD, and we were able to produce it with the help of other Hive Builders such as @guiltyparties.
We only need branding adjustments for it to be available publicly.
Internal budget management tool
Community marketing tools development
Hive Initiatives Tracker (private)
An app to manage initiatives, making content curation easier. It helped us run initiatives that generated thousands of entries, such as HiveAroundTheWorld and Hive14Challenge.
More info about Initiatives Tracker:
Building tools to simplify initiatives
Hive GiveAway
Hive GiveAway is an app to run initiatives through comments and reward those who participate. It includes some filters (needs improvements).
App link: giveaway.hivecreators.co
Hive Payments Initiatives (public release soon)
A web app for customized bulk payments for initiatives.
Activating initiatives to strengthen internal cohesion
Hive Power Up Day
We believe Hive Power Up Day was our first initiative with clearly visible impact, after trying and discarding many ideas.
That is why we built this chart, before we developed the Power Up initiative, there was already a large volume of power up actions, what we aimed to do was turn that scattered momentum into something cohesive, celebratory, and repeatable.
We also built this tracking tool:
powerup.hivecreators.co
Across these campaigns we invested 500+ HBD and the community generated 500k+ in HIVE POWER, giving us a reference for initiatives with visible return.
We must acknowledge the work that @forykw has done with regard to this initiative.
holahive.com
We made strong progress building a robust platform to create Hive accounts, so anyone in the community can manage onboarding for new users, especially at events. After more than 2 years in development, holahive.com has delivered real solutions, and now enters a new phase with fresh updates.
Academy integration (testing phase)
https://holahive.com//academia
Updates to the account creation app
- Platform unification into join.holahive.com, with automatic language detection.
- Stronger private key management on the client side.
- Improved interface and error handling.
- Updated to Python 3.12.
New app in development, Astro + WAX TypeScript
It will include a ticket system and login via Keychain.
It will be available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese initially. It will include user profile management, a first test post saved in custom JSON, GitHub login with a developer funnel, and many other features.
Building relationships with new collaborators, creators, and regional organizers
This work did not only strengthen the project's foundation, it also opened the door to a much wider collaboration network for the next stage.
Online events with exchanges
MEXC
We broke the audience record with 664+ people connected live.
We ran another Christmas activity with hundreds of participants.
CoinEx
We held an AMA with strong acceptance from the exchange community.
BingX
We held an AMA more focused on Hive's economy, where part of the exchange team shared a technical analysis of the Hive cryptocurrency.
Pending exchange activities:
With Binance in Spanish we had an AMA budgeted and planned, but due to lack of time we could not run it. We hope to resume planning in 2026.
Regional participation
Peru
The first Hive event in the region:
It was not a full success in terms of attendance, but we were able to connect with important communities in the ecosystem.
After that, we received invitations to other events:
X Spaces with Peruvian influencers
Ecuador
We also ran different promotional activities in the region. It is a country with low crypto and blockchain influence, where you can make a difference if you plan well. We started by connecting with other communities, such as Polkadot.
Connections with external events managed through @web3labs-da
Participation in activities with OffChain Global, a global events initiative:
OffChain Global on X
Collaboration with Crypto Connect, where the MEXC community was also present:
Key marketing activities
Branding
We built a base identity in two stages for social media.
The first stage continued previous work:
Branding report, Hive LATAM visual
Then we introduced a process integrating multiple styles, but with a less disruptive look.
Stronger focus on video for Instagram and TikTok
Later we will publish a 2025 social media recap.
Concept developed for Talent Land
More details:
Visual strategies to strengthen Hive in Talent Land
Budget, efficiency, and sustainability
We will publish a more detailed post later.
Financially, 2025 was also an exercise in discipline.
Despite receiving only 50% of the originally assigned budget, the team adjusted the operating plan by cutting non essential expenses, mainly advertising and the costs of producing marketing materials, without compromising the strategic goals of the project.
- Regarding the graphic design and video deliverables, 75% completion, considering a 20% reduction compared to the initial budget plan. This resulted in 600+ multimedia pieces, including videos and graphic design assets.
- Regarding activities, we had to adjust many times, estimating 50% completion of the base plan.
Thanks to these decisions, Hive Creators not only executed 2025, it also has a base budget to continue executing core tasks until February 2026, ensuring continuity and stability during the transition into the new year, while we work on a new proposal.
Looking toward 2026
Today, December 31, we do not feel that 2026 is a restart. It is a natural continuation.
We enter the new year with clear systems, validated learnings, an aligned marketing foundation, and acquisition objectives following the principle of test, error, and improvement. More importantly, we enter with the confidence that only comes from doing the quiet work first.
We are excited to start 2026 by turning everything we learned into tangible growth, executing clear and measurable actions that drive a new sustained wave of creator adoption across Latin America.
Thank you to everyone who was part of the journey in 2025.
See you in 2026 with more intention, more clarity, and more confidence.
Special thanks to @starkerz for providing the initial guidance.
Thanks to @valueplan for trusting us.