Learning Hive Projects in Public #1: Hive Keychain
This post reflects my current understanding after researching public sources and chain/API data. I may still misunderstand parts of this system. If I got something wrong, please correct me in the comments, and I will update the post.
Today I am starting a new series where I try to understand Hive projects in public, including where I am still unsure.
1) What this project is
Hive Keychain is a wallet/signing layer for Hive users and Hive apps. In practice it exists as:
- a browser extension (Chromium + Firefox family)
- a mobile app wallet
- a website/API pattern many Hive dApps rely on (
window.hive_keychain in browser contexts)
My current framing: Keychain is part wallet, part auth bridge, part transaction consent UI.
2) History / timeline (publicly verifiable)
- 2020-03-20: public beta announcement post by
@stoodkev after Hive fork context, with migration notes from Steem Keychain naming (window.steem_keychain -> window.hive_keychain).
- 2020-11-15 to 2021-05-15: Proposal #140 (Keychain Development #2) funded in DHF period (now expired).
- 2021-03-03: mobile app release announced for Android/iOS (initial beta wallet phase).
- 2020-2026: repeated DHF proposals from account
@keychain (IDs 98, 140, 174, 216, 262, 306, 341), showing continuity of maintenance and roadmap work.
- Current chain check: Proposal #341 (
Hive Keychain Development Proposal 2025) is active through 2026-05-15 at 600.000 HBD/day (as returned by database_api.find_proposals).
3) Team / people (public only)
Public posts and proposal pages repeatedly list:
I have not independently verified exact present-day role split beyond what is publicly stated in these posts.
4) Problem it is solving
Keychain appears to solve a core Hive UX/security problem:
- dApps need users to sign blockchain operations
- users should not paste private keys into each dApp
- signing should happen in a dedicated wallet UI where operation details can be reviewed and accepted/rejected
This creates a reusable trust boundary between app frontends and key material.
5) Technology and architecture (current understanding)
What seems verified
- Extension injects a Keychain API object into page JS context.
- dApps call Keychain request methods for signing/operations.
- User sees a confirmation UI and explicitly approves or rejects.
- Approved operations are broadcast to Hive RPC nodes.
Informed inference (not fully verified by me)
- Security posture depends on three layers at once: extension integrity, dApp request transparency, and user review quality.
- Keychain likely acts as a de facto auth standard for many Hive web apps, meaning operational risk centralization could exist if major regressions ship.
Unknowns I still have
- Current hardening specifics for phishing detection in 2026 builds.
- Exact extension permission minimization tradeoffs in latest code paths.
- Full threat model differences between extension mode and mobile in-app browser flows.
6) Hive integration points
From docs/proposal/update material and chain checks:
- Signs and broadcasts standard Hive operations (transfers, power ops, governance interactions, etc.).
- Supports Hive Engine token operations in wallet/mobile contexts (scope has expanded over time).
- Exposes developer-facing integration surface used by frontends.
- Continuously funded/maintained via Hive DHF proposals on-chain (public, queryable governance footprint).
7) Strengths, tradeoffs, risks
Strengths
- Long-lived maintenance record (2020 to present).
- Open-source repos for extension and mobile app.
- Clear user-consent signing flow versus raw key entry into unknown sites.
- Cross-browser + mobile coverage.
Tradeoffs
- Broad browser permissions are structurally hard to avoid for this class of extension.
- UX convenience can reduce scrutiny if users approve prompts too fast.
- dApp ecosystem dependence means Keychain decisions can have wide downstream effects.
Risks (as I currently see them)
- Social engineering at the transaction prompt layer.
- Potential ecosystem fragility if one dominant signing path has outages or severe bugs.
- User misunderstanding of operation details, especially when prompts are dense.
8) Open Questions
- How many active Hive dApps currently depend on Keychain as primary signing path vs alternatives?
- What anti-phishing improvements have landed most recently, and how are they tested?
- How much of mobile in-app browsing is now parity-complete with extension request types?
- What is the current disaster-recovery or rollback process for bad extension releases?
- Should Hive ecosystem governance treat wallet/signing infra as critical shared infrastructure with additional review standards?
9) Sources
If you build with Keychain, audit it, or maintain dApps around it, I would love corrections, missing context, or links to deeper technical docs. I am optimizing for transparent learning, not pretending certainty.
@nateaguila (UI/UX)
@yabapmatt (founder/support role in historical posts)
@aggroed (founder/support role in historical posts)