🐝 KE Ratio? Yeah, It’s Cool… But Let’s Not Pretend It’s the Blockchain Gospel
Let’s get one thing straight before we start: I love Hive. I love this community. I love seeing people build, create, and hustle here. But can we all just admit something?
The KE Ratio is a tool. Not a character test. Not a blockchain loyalty oath. Not some magical number that determines whether or not you’re worthy of breathing Hive air.
Recently my buddy @ecoinstant made a post about his KE ratio “tanking” because—scandal alert—he powered down to fund real life adventures. The horror! Some folks seem to think this makes him less committed to Hive. Spoiler: he’s still here, still building, still showing up every day while living life on his own terms.
And honestly? That’s the whole damn point.
📊 Wait. What the Hive is KE again?
Alright, Hive nerds, buckle up. Here’s the refresher straight from @azircon:
KE = (Author Rewards + Curation Rewards) / Held HP
Or in plain English: • KE = 1.0 → You’re holding exactly what you earn. • KE > 1.0 → You’re holding less than you earn (aka you cashed some out). • KE < 1.0 → You’re holding more than you earn (you’re powering up like a boss).
When @azircon first shared the idea, he wasn’t trying to spark a new class system on Hive. He just wanted a quantitative metric to understand user behavior—are you stacking or cashing? Since then, the KE ratio has blown up. PeakD even integrated it right next to your name, so now your blockchain neighbors can quietly (or not so quietly) judge you on every comment you make.
But let’s pump the brakes for a second.
🤔 Metrics ≠ Morality
Like reputation, KE is a number. It’s a tool. It tells part of your story—but not the whole damn novel.
Let’s not forget reputation also started as a way to signal trust and filter out bad actors. It works… sort of. But we’ve all seen high-rep accounts extracting like they’re running a Hive vampire scheme. So yeah, numbers alone don’t always tell you who’s contributing or who’s just milking the cow.
The same applies to KE. A high KE could mean you’re cashing out constantly. Or maybe you’re a curation project distributing earnings to delegators. A low KE? Could mean you’re stacking Hive like a squirrel on Red Bull. Or it could mean you’ve just started earning. Context matters.
And, as @ecoinstant pointed out, sometimes you need to power down for reasons bigger than Hive: • Traveling • Funding tools • Paying rent • Buying bananas in Guatemala (true story)
Does using your rewards make you less of a Hiver? Hell no. It makes you a human who understands the difference between digital and physical reality.
🗣 “But high KE means commitment!”
Look, I get the instinct. A high KE feels like a badge of honor. But @azircon himself admitted:
“An old account with high Reputation and high KE is far worse than a new account with low Reputation and high KE.”
Why? Because behavior matters more than stats. If someone’s showing up, posting, commenting, building, engaging—they’re adding value. Whether they’re stacking or cashing.
Also, let’s remember: • KE = 3 means someone cashed out 3x what they earned. • The active community has (loosely) decided that’s still acceptable. So unless you’re seeing someone constantly drain rewards and ghost the platform, maybe give them the benefit of the doubt?
🏆 Life Before Hive. Always.
This is my motto, and it should be yours too. Hive is amazing. It’s empowering people worldwide. But if I have to choose between keeping a shiny KE ratio or putting food on the table, guess which one I’m picking?
And here’s the kicker: I can still post 3x a day, comment on 1000 posts, and be as “Hive active” as ever—even if my KE ratio spikes. The metric doesn’t tell the whole story.
🔥 Bottom line: Use tools, don’t worship them
KE Ratio? Useful. Insightful. Cool data point. But it’s not a moral compass. It’s not a loyalty test. And it sure as hell isn’t a reason to downvote or shame someone who dared to cash out.
We’re here to build, connect, and grow. Whether your KE is 0.2 or 20, the real question is: ➡️ Are you adding value? ➡️ Are you helping others? ➡️ Are you making Hive stronger?
If yes… then congrats. You’re doing it right.
⸻
Stay Hive. Stay human. Stay hungry. Power down if you need to. Power up when you can. Just keep building and creating content.
⸻
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In my opinion, it should serve more as an indicator within local communities. We shall not judge people from the other edge of the world we don't really interact with, yet communities should aim on growing together - any community that is. A local one, national one, language-based one, topic-based one... And this ratio shows how its members grow compared to their peers
That is a very interesting perspective! And thanks for sharing it, because I didn't look at it like that. The KE ratio can clearly have many interesting uses. But calling out on people is not one of them ;-)
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I think KE is a great tool, probably a lot more useful than reputation, but it is not perfect. It does not take into account Witness earnings for example... I believe ecoinstat also runs a witness...
So witness earnings especially those in top 50 can with time lower the KE significantly (top 20 earn around 3,000 HIVE per week, that can really mess with KE :) )
But of course witnesses power down and you can see current power downs by seeing black piggy in the image below for all witnesses that are currently powering down:
And I get it running a Witness costs money itself plus top 20 are usually involved in other Hive projects that they might be funding with their Witness earnings.
Here is what witness earnings in the last week looked like (top 20 all earn almost identical amount):
True about the witnesses, it gives a totally different dynamic (very interesting stats you showed here btw! ;-) ). Therefor I totally agree, KE is a tool, a metric (and I love it!), but just one of the many factors to be taken into account. Some people are extremely valuable to the Hive community, with not-so-great looking stats.
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You said it it, brother, the KE Ratio is simply one tool, or metric, by which Hive accounts can be assessed, and it doesn't at all represent the whole picture, just like reputation or HBD in Savings. It's interesting to me, but I don't put much weight in it. I come to understand people far better by simply interacting with them over time, and getting to know them. Alex is a badass, just like you, and not once have I ever questioned his commitment, or how he does things, because I see what he's doing, and the result of it. 😁 🙏 💚 ✨ 🤙
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Indeed! A tool, a metric, just one of many to take into consideration!
Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the KE metric, but you have to use it together with many other things...
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Oh, I appreciate it very much we well, but yeah, some people put too much weight into it, without taking other useful metrics into account. Regarding reputation, apparently InLeo is probably going to remove it from their frontend, because of the high degree that do many people are being downvoted, and they know that because of that, as a metric, it's lost much of its use. 😁 🙏 💚 ✨ 🤙
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People being downvoted because of their high reputation number? That's bad man... I really don't like the whole downvoting system to be honest. It can definitely have its use, but I see it being abused more often than used for good...
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I don't think that it's because of the high reps, but it seems that a whole lot of people are being heavily downvoted, and yes, it is very, very bad. Everyone is always talking about onboarding new people to Hive, but until this rampant downvoting issue is resolved, most are just going to leave. That's why so many Hivers have abandoned Hive for Blurt, as there are no downvotes there. My assets there are now past $25, and I'm really digging it. Yes, I think downvoting can and does have a use, but from my perspective it is being highly abused. In my whole time here, I think that I've used the downvote only once or twice, that's it. 😁 🙏 💚 ✨ 🤙
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Same... Can't say anything else but that.. Same, only downvoted once or twice. I appreciate how it can be used, but it is definitely being heavily abused right now. And that is bad, I've also see very good and valuable people leave hive for it. And it totally blocks growth in all senses...
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This issue is bothering me more and more, because it is being abused. You're right, and that's exactly why I'm so frustrated right now. There are people going out of their way in their local communities, and neighboring communities, to educate and onboard people and businesses to Hive, and they are getting downvoted! What the actual fuck?!? 😁 🙏 💚 ✨ 🤙
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Exactly that! And it’s seriously demotivating people… and a lot!
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Yes, it is, and I'm seeing exactly that happen more now, so many people who are trying and doing their best, are becoming demotivated and demoralized. This is so not right, and I want to do something about it, but I have no clue how to actually help or make it better. 😁 🙏 💚 ✨ 🤙
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