We Are Always Watching the Blockchain 👁️

But this story? You’re probably following it too.

We’re talking about @curamax.

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The Rise and Fall (Kind Of)

We’ve seen @curamax post about being bullied and downvoted, like in this post.

What’s curious is that this same author used to be one of the top 20 Hive reward earners—always ranked around 13th or 14th until April. In May, he dropped to 27th. Still not bad—most users can only dream of reaching the top 50.

But recently? As per @dalz, he’s now down to 95th.

That’s a massive fall. 🚨

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So... What’s Going On?

Let’s be honest: the guy posts original content. He shares a lot of food photos (example: Prawn & Pork Treat) and seems like a genuine user.

So why all the downvotes?

We did what Hive users do best: we snooped around. 🕵️

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The Comment Trail 🧵

We started reading the comment threads... and voilà, the drama unfolds.

In this comment chat between @azircon and @usainvote (his recurring downvoter), things start to make more sense:

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Is It About His KE?

It seems the issue could be related to his Key Efficiency (KE)—or perhaps his participation in multiple vote projects like @eds.vote and CCD (when it was still active).

Some claim he was being bullied because he spends more than he stakes. But... really?

He gets an upvote worth $0.27. That sounds like someone staking everything, right?

Wrong.

His real stake? 6,000 HP.

So where does the power come from?

You guessed it: leasing.

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Leasing Like a Pro (Or a Con?)

Yes, @curamax is leasing Hive Power from Hive Engine. Not illegal, not uncommon—but it’s definitely a gray area.

Why? Because leasing costs money. You might curate and get curation rewards, but unless you know what you’re doing, you’re likely losing money compared to just staking and earning the ~8% APR.

But some users leasing HP are finding sneaky ways to make up for the loss.

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Enter the Voting Circles 🔄

One strategy? Attract big wallets.

Some of these wallets are happy to return votes—even with minimal engagement.

Let’s take another leasing user: @nevies. Always the same familiar accounts upvoting.

Here’s @curamax voting on a post from @nevies:

Who else is voting? @steemychicken1, @dwayne16... they’re also upvoting @curamax. Cozy circle.

Let’s look at another leaser: @fortune1m:

Some familiar faces again.

Others like @yeouido.park and @daveks don’t vote for @nevies, but they do for @curamax.

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Is This KE... or Gaming the System?

So is @curamax’s KE really high because of his content? Or is he just a master networker drawing big votes by voting the “right” people?

Another user, @fortune1m, compensates leasing loss with self-votes. (See the screenshot above.)

What about @curamax?

He used to self-vote too, like in this post:
@curamax/a-nostalgic-stroll-through-geylang

Maybe he learned. Maybe not.

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New Trick: Shillposting for Games 🎮

Now, another trend on Hive is milking rewards by posting about new games from @aggroed.

Guess who jumped on that?

Yup.

@curamax.

Funny how the same author once claimed he’d stop ranting and just post food + Hive content again:
@curamax/focus-on-food-and-hive

But hey—@honeyswap loves shillposts.

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Final Thoughts 💭

So is @curamax really the victim?

Or just another player milking the system through:

• Leasing power,
• Voting circles,
• Strategic curation,
• Occasional self-votes,
• And now... game shillposting?

We’ll let others decide. @usainvote, whom we rarely see but appreciate when we do. Shoutout also to @smooth and @azircon—always keeping an eye on things.

Just remember, if you're staking Hive, this is your blockchain too. 👇

"The money doesn’t disappear—it just goes where the circle spins."

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Let us know what you think, or better—keep watching.