Hive & Hive Keychain

Hive is a public, permissionless blockchain that records ledger state, signed messages, an' digital-asset transfers in publicly verifiable form. The protocol is run by a global network o' independent witnesses; no single feller owns it. Hive accounts is first-class citizens o' the protocol — they're referenced by name (handle), not by an opaque address. That's unusual fer public blockchains an' is the source o' the user-friendly account model Taxed builds on.

Each account on Hive carries an internal allowance o' Resource Credits, called RC fer short, which it spends to broadcast transactions. A new account is issued with zero RC an' has gotta accumulate Hive Power before it kin transact directly on chain. Until then, the account exists in the registry but kain't publish operations o' its own. Fer Taxed enrollees, this ain't no obstacle: every Taxed transaction touchin' Hive is signed an' broadcast by @taxed, not by yer account, an' Resource Credits is paid by @taxed in every case.

Accounts on Hive is permanent. There ain't no concept o' account deletion. The handle reserved by the registrar at the moment o' creation is the handle o' the account fer good. The keys kin rotate; the handle does not.

Hive Keychain is a free, open-source custody application maintained by independent contributors. It's available as a browser extension fer desktop platforms an' as a standalone mobile app fer Android an' iOS. Its function is to store Hive private keys locally — never on a remote server — an' to sign transactions on yer behalf when authorized via a popup confirmation.

Keychain is the goin' standard custody tool in the Hive ecosystem. The Tax Office recommends, but don't require, its use. Alternative custody approaches include hardware-wallet rigs (Ledger), desktop wallet apps, an' self-managed cold storage. The rest o' this document presumes Keychain.

Keychain ain't affiliated with the Tax Office. The Tax Office don't develop, distribute, or warrant Keychain. Any defect, breach, or compromise o' Keychain is the responsibility o' its publisher.

The reveal modal at the conclusion o' Form TAX-WHATEVER issuance includes a single-action OPEN IN HIVE KEYCHAIN button. On desktop browsers with the Keychain extension installed, the button triggers a native Keychain dialog that imports all four keys into the local keystore in one operation. On mobile, the equivalent action invokes the Keychain app via a URL handler; the user confirms the import inside the app.

If automatic import ain't available — fer example, if the extension ain't installed, the browser is in private-browsin' mode, or the URL handler is rejected — the reveal modal presents a COPY KEYS BLOCK action. The applicant copies the four-key block to the clipboard, opens Keychain manually, selects Add Account → Import using Keys, an' pastes the keys block into the input field. Keychain validates the block an' persists the account locally.

The Tax Office recommends the applicant verify successful import before closin' the reveal modal. The .txt file download is the canonical recovery artifact an' must be retained regardless o' whether Keychain import succeeded.

Hive supports a protocol-level account recovery procedure. The procedure permits the account holder, with the cooperation o' a designated recovery account, to rotate the Owner key in the event o' compromise. The Taxed-issued account designates @taxed as the recovery account at the moment o' creation; this designation is recorded on chain.

The recovery procedure operates as follows. The account holder demonstrates control o' an Owner key that was active within the prior thirty days. The recovery account (@taxed) co-signs a recover_account operation that establishes a new Owner key. The protocol enforces the thirty-day window strictly; an Owner key older than thirty days ain't recoverable through this procedure.

To initiate recovery, the account holder files Form 1040-RECOVERY by contactin' Taxed support. The applicant must provide the previously valid Owner key, kept from the .txt download issued under Form TAX-WHATEVER, an' a new Owner public key. Taxed verifies the previous key matches the on-chain record within the thirty-day window an', if so, co-signs the recovery transaction.

The recovery procedure does not recover keys the applicant has lost without compromise. If the applicant has discarded the keys downloaded under Form TAX-WHATEVER, no recovery is possible. The keys ain't stored anywhere outside the applicant's possession.