There is Hive, and there is another Hive. One is the decentralized blockchain for web3 that we all know and love. The other is a company, Hive Blockchain Technologies Ltd. Hive is one of the beautiful common words in English, of course many would like to have them as their brand. So, it is not surprising to see various entities choosing to use the same word that carries meaningful message. However, some of us were a bit surprised when we found out, not only there was another Hive, but it also used a word blockchain in its branding.
Hive, the decentralized blockchain for web3, was launched in March 20, 2020. We all packed up our belongings, loaded them up on a truck and moved to the Hive land. As we were building tents, unpacking, and making this new place home, a news started circulating that Hive was being sued. lol. Hive who? when? what? The question everybody had in mind was - How do you sue a decentralized network? And why would you do that? Turns out there was another entity who also had Hive in its brand name. That is Hive Blockchain Technologies Ltd.
They issued ceased and desist memo 3 days after Hive was launched. Wow, that is fast. And they say nobody knows about Hive. This memo dated March 23, 2020, and is still up on their website under the title - HIVE BLOCKCHAIN REQUESTS CEASE AND DESIST FROM NEW STEEM COMMUNITY HARD FORK USING SAME NAME. See for yourself by visiting the link. I don't think anything came out of it. Who would you sue in a decentralized network? Most importantly why even bother? I would suggest this can be positive thing for this business. More about that later.
In their own website this is how they describe themselves:
HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd. is a cryptocurrency miner and data center operator.
Ok, so this is not a blockchain. This is not a decentralized network. It is just a company who is involved in mining bitcoin, ethereum, and other coins. And it is also a data center operator. So, what is the problem again? There is no competition, no conflict here. Let's look at the contents of cease and desist memo.
HIVE believes this Blockchain’s use of “Hive” and “Hive Blockchain” is, intentionally or otherwise, confusing with the Company’s brand, which it has used globally over the Internet in relation to its connection with blockchain related goods and services including cryptocurrency. This Blockchain’s use of the same brand in connection with similar goods and services also passes off on the goodwill that HIVE has developed.
I personally have never heard of this company before. I would think same applies to most of the people in the Hive network. But above statement is implying that, this naming was chosen because of the reputation this company has built?! The question I would ask is, why do you need to jump into conclusions so quick. Why not find out more first. That wouldn't even be my first question. I will tell you my first question in a little bit.
To find out the backstories on how Hive was named, and logos were created, I had to refer to @roelandp's post from the around the time when Hive was launched. He explains everything in details in this post - (Hello Hive); First Post: Hive - becoming of the brand. Feel free to read the post if you haven't already.
In the end there was a list of 120 names for the chain after which a couple of voting rounds finally Hive stuck with most of the people, followed by "Clout" and "Carbon" which I personally also found a good one, referring to Graphene software.
Some alternatives like my suggested Hiive was voted out as well as combo words such as HiveNetwork, Hivebase, etcetera. So Hive it was after a final "yes/no" vote where 100% voted for.
That looks like a community effort in figuring out the name to call the new home in a democratic fashion. And it doesn't look like there were any other considerations, like say use already existing company's brand name so we can capitalize on their success. lol, that sounds funny writing. If we were to choose a success story of a company, I probably would go with Apple. And also an apple a day keeps the doctor away - they say.
There is more I would like to show you from the memo of Hive Blockchain Technlogies Ltd, to really try to understand them:
“We are a strong supporter of innovation within blockchain technology, and we have no issue with the proposed blockchain beyond its name, nor do we have any opinion on its reported dispute related to Steem. However, for legal reasons, we have no option but to seek to protect our interests, dispel the ongoing confusion and avoid any potential damage to our reputation. We are hopeful this can be easily resolved with a name change. Any continued usage by the Blockchain will only evidence an intentionally predatory, misleading and fraudulent strategy.”
This leads me to the first question I wanted to ask. How are you in a mining business if you don't understand the concept of decentralization? If you do understand, and truly are supporter of innovation within blockchain technology, then this memo would never happen. Anybody who has read Satoshi's Bitcoin whitepaper (which should be a requirement for any CEO or executive officer of a company whose business model to make money of bitcoin or other cryptos) you probably would understand at least a little bit what decentralization is about. Those who support this journey and efforts, I would think would embrace a truly decentralized network. And probably be even honored to share the name.
It seems like they were concerned with potential damage to their reputation. I understand that, in business reputation means money. Well, show me the money then. This company has a publicly traded stock. I had to look at what happened to their stock price since the launch of Hive.
On March 23rd, 2020 this stock was trading at around 13 cents. Since the launch of Hive, the price of their stock never visited these levels. It just kept going up, and up. I am not claiming that Hive, the decentralized network, caused the price of stocks go up. It is possible. But it sure didn't do any damage to its reputation.
An interesting fact I have learnt recently is that the stock ticker symbol for Hive Blockchain Technologies Ltd, used to be $HVBT. Their ticker symbol changed to $HIVE in September 14, 2021. Hmmm, ok. Are they trying to bank on Hive's reputation now. Smart. Why stop there? Get on Hive. There are more benefits that Hive can deliver not only to this company and others too. But they are in a unique position with have a similar branding. More importantly, for Hive Blockchain Technologies Ltd to embrace Hive, the decentralized blockchain network for web3 will show that they truly believe in this innovation.
I wish the best for both Hive beings in this holiday season. May they both live long and prosper. I am not a financial expert or any other kind of expert. Everything in this post are simply my opinions.
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