Want to onboard new users to Hive by handing out gift cards? You don't need to run any servers. HiveInvite lets you generate and manage gift cards through a web dashboard — all you need is a Hive account, some Resource Credits, and the Hive Keychain browser extension.
This guide walks you through the process from start to finish.
When you become an issuer on HiveInvite, you delegate account creation authority to the HiveInvite service. You keep your own account creation tokens (claimed from your RC), and the service uses them on your behalf when someone redeems one of your gift cards.
The flow looks like this:
Your gift cards are cryptographically signed and declared on-chain, so they're transparent and verifiable. The new user's private keys are generated in their browser and never touch any server.
The first decision is which Hive account you'll use to issue gift cards. Later in the process you'll delegate active authority over this account to the HiveInvite service, so it can create accounts and delegate HP on your behalf when cards are redeemed. There are two approaches:
Use your main account. This is the simplest option. Your main account likely holds most of your HP, which means it generates RC faster and can claim more account creation tokens. The tradeoff is that you're granting active authority over the account that holds the majority of your assets — this requires a higher level of trust in the service operator.
Create a dedicated account. You can create a separate Hive account specifically for issuing gift cards, and transfer or delegate only the HP needed to support redemptions. This limits your exposure — if anything were to go wrong, only the assets on that dedicated account would be at risk.
Either approach works. If you're starting small and trust the service operator, using your main account is perfectly reasonable. For larger-scale issuance or extra peace of mind, a dedicated account is the more cautious choice.
Whichever you choose, HiveInvite provides a key monitoring tool that watches your issuer account for unexpected operations. It tracks all actions performed by the delegated service account and sends you a Telegram alert if anything other than the expected account creation and HP delegation operations is detected — with a direct link to review and revoke authorities on PeakD. Setting up key monitoring is recommended for all issuers.
Each gift card consumes one account creation token when redeemed. You need to claim these in advance by spending your account's Resource Credits (RC). Each token costs approximately 27 billion RC, and the more HP you have powered up, the faster your RC regenerates.
The easiest approach is to let Hive Keychain claim tokens for you automatically:
Once enabled, Keychain will automatically claim a free account token whenever your RC recharges above 85%. This happens in the background — you don't need to do anything. Over time, your token balance will accumulate as long as your RC keeps regenerating.
This is ideal for issuers because it means you always have a growing supply of tokens ready to go without having to remember to claim manually.
If you prefer to claim tokens on demand:
As a rough guide, an account with 5,000 HP can claim about one token per day. Larger accounts regenerate RC faster and can claim more frequently.
You can check how many pending tokens you have at any time on your PeakD profile or through the HiveInvite dashboard once you're set up.
Your application is now recorded on the Hive blockchain and pending review. You'll receive a Hive transfer notification (a small 0.001 HBD transfer with an encrypted memo) when your application is approved.
Once approved, you need to grant the HiveInvite service account permission to create accounts on your behalf. The dashboard will guide you through this, but here's what's happening:
With Hive Keychain (recommended):
Without Keychain (manual):
https://peakd.com/@yourusername/permissionsAs discussed in Step 1, delegating active authority is a significant action. The service should only ever use this authority to create accounts and delegate HP when gift cards are redeemed, but the permission itself is broad. You can revoke it at any time by removing the service account from your active authority on PeakD or any Hive wallet.
Now you're ready to create your first batch.
The service generates the cards, builds a Merkle tree for cryptographic verification, and publishes a batch declaration on-chain. This takes a few seconds.
Once complete, you can download:
You now have gift cards ready to hand out. Some options:
Download the PDF and print it. Each page contains a card with a QR code and PIN. Cut them out and distribute in person — great for meetups, conferences, or community events.
Send individual QR code images via messaging apps, email, or social media. Each recipient also needs the corresponding PIN, which you can send separately for added security.
If you're onboarding a community through a chat group, you can set up a bot that distributes cards to members on demand. The HiveInvite project includes a bot implementation that loads card manifests and handles distribution automatically. See the bot documentation for details.
When someone receives your gift card:
The entire process takes about two minutes. No email, no phone number, no KYC.
The dashboard lets you track all your batches:
If you want to stop issuing cards or switch to self-hosting:
Outstanding cards from already-generated batches will still be redeemable (the batch declarations and tokens are already on-chain), but you won't be able to generate new batches through the service.
How much does it cost?
There's no fee to use HiveInvite. Your only cost is the Resource Credits spent claiming account creation tokens, which regenerate over time based on your HP.
Can I issue cards in multiple languages?
Yes. Currently English and Chinese, more to come. The claim flow, card design, and wallet interface are all localized.
What if a card expires before being claimed?
Nothing happens — the token simply becomes invalid. Your account creation token is not consumed. You can generate a new batch to replace expired cards.
Can I see who claimed my cards?
Yes. The dashboard shows the Hive username created for each redeemed card.
What HP delegation do new accounts receive?
The service delegates a configurable amount of HP (in VESTS) to each new account. This gives them enough Resource Credits to start transacting on Hive without needing to purchase or power up HIVE first. The delegation comes from your account.
Questions? Post in the HiveInvite community on Hive, or check the GitHub repository.