How did Hive do in August 2026 from an inflation standpoint? In 2026 the Hive inflation continued to run hot. Let's take a look.
The projected inflation for Hive for 2026 is around 5.2% on a yearly basis, or around 0.43% on a monthly basis.
Hive has a double currency system, HIVE and HBD, with conversions between them that add or remove HIVE from circulation on top of the regular inflation. Furthermore, the decentralized hive fund DHF, that serves as a DAO converts the HIVE that is in the DHF into HBD. The @hbdstabilizer has also grown and it plays an important role in the overall tokenomics, making conversions and trading on the internal market. Because of this additional mechanics the HIVE inflation and supply can be drastically different in real time than the regular/projected one.
To be able to follow the HIVE supply we need to take a look at all the different ways HIVE is created, author, curation, witness rewards, conversions etc, then net that out with the HIVE burned from conversions, accounts fees, null transfers etc. To get the virtual supply we need to do the same for the HBD supply as well.
HIVE Created
Here is the chart.
The chart above includes:
- Author rewards
- Curation rewards
- Witness rewards
- Staking rewards
These are the regular ways new HIVE enters circulation. In August they averaged around 96k HIVE per day before conversions, slightly above July.
If we zoom in November 2025 - August 2026 to see this change, we can see this:
We can notice that in the first part of the chart the regular inflation was close to 90k, while after the HF took effect, it dropped around 72k. In the latest months it returned to the 90k area because author payouts shifted from HBD to HIVE. August averaged around 96k HIVE per day.
The thing is the conversions are playing a major role in the ecosystem. Here is the chart again, including conversions.
We can notice that the HBD to HIVE conversions are the dominant in the chart. This works in both ways and a big part of them is converted back to HIVE, especially through the work of the stabilizer.
Conversions remained elevated in August. Around 18.1M HIVE was created through HBD to HIVE conversions. After the HIVE sent to the DHF and the ninja-mined conversion component are deducted, net conversions added around 8.6M HIVE. Market dynamics still influence this category the most.
HIVE Removed from Circulation
Here is the chart.
The above takes into consideration six different ways of HIVE removed:
- Ninja Mined HIVE To HBD Conversions In DHF
- HIVE transfers to DHF and converted to HBD
- Transfers to null
- Null as post beneficiary
- New accounts creation fee
- HIVE to HBD conversions
HIVE transfers to the DHF remained the dominant removal category in August, totaling around 9.1M HIVE. The ninja-mined conversion component removed another 445k HIVE, while account fees, null transfers and null beneficiaries were much smaller. There were no completed collateralized HIVE to HBD conversions during the month.
Historical HIVE Supply
When all the above is added and removed, we get this chart for the all-time HIVE supply.
Up until August 2021, the HIVE supply was overall almost constant, even with a few deflationary months. Since then, supply mostly moved higher, with a small exception in February 2023. The upward pace remained elevated in August and accelerated from July.
August 2026 ended with around 580.1M HIVE in circulation.
HBD Supply
Here is the chart for the HBD supply.
The light color is HBD in DHF. The HBD in the DHF is not freely circulating HBD and only enters circulation when payouts to the DHF workers are made.
HBD is being created and removed in various ways, but the conversions play the major role here in both directions. Other ways HBD are created are DHF proposal payouts, author rewards and interest.
At the end of August there were around 8.7M HBD in regular circulation, while approximately 23.4M HBD remained in the DHF.
Virtual HIVE Supply
When we add the HIVE equivalent supply from the HBD to the HIVE supply we get the chart below.
I have further separated this chart into two types of virtual supply. The first line includes the virtual supply from the regular HBD, which ended August at around 8.7M HBD. The second includes the DHF as well, with an additional 23.4M HBD. The base used for the inflation calculation is the middle line.
The virtual HIVE supply ended August near 783.3M HIVE. The increase was amplified by the lower HIVE feed price, which raises the HIVE equivalent value of the outstanding HBD. We can see that the virtual supply fluctuates a lot, mostly because it is tied to the price of HIVE. As the price of HIVE drops, the virtual supply increases and the opposite.
Projected VS Realized HIVE Inflation in 2025 - 2026
This chart tells the story of the new HIVE entering circulation in 2025 - 2026.
This chart tells the story of Hive inflation in the last period. Through August 2026, realized HIVE creation since the start of 2025 reached around 117.3M HIVE, compared with roughly 46.6M HIVE projected. The realized annualized rate for the first eight months of 2026 is close to 19.55%, while the protocol projection remains near 5.4%.
Monthly Inflation
If we plot the monthly inflation in 2024-2026, we get this.
This is a chart for the period of 2024-2026. The monthly inflation has remained above 1% throughout 2026. August finished at 1.98%, up from 1.59% in July and close to the June high of 2.05%, while remaining far above the projected monthly rate of around 0.39%.
Yearly Inflation [%]
The yearly, projected and realized inflation looks like this.
Here we can see the big picture. Since the start of the chain and its predecessor the projected inflation in white is that it should go down at approximately 0.5% per year. But due to conversions this has been not the case, and in 2021 it even pushed it to the negative. In most of the years the realized has been higher. In the past two years, 2024 and 2025 it has been around 9%, while the projected close to 5%.
The first eight months of 2026 annualize to around 19.55% inflation. That is well above the previous record high of 13% in 2019, with August accelerating again after July.
Net HIVE Created by Category in August 2026
Here is the new HIVE supply created by category in August 2026.
Conversions were again at the top in August, adding around 8.6M HIVE net. They remain the main variable affecting the Hive inflation rate.
Curation came second with around 1.14M HIVE added, followed by author rewards at roughly 930k HIVE. Staking added about 544k and witnesses 362k.
Around 72k HIVE was removed through transfers to @null and @null beneficiary rewards, while account creation fees removed another 2.1k HIVE.
All the best @dalz
