EverWitnessed writes the SHA-256 hash of any file to the Hive blockchain. Hive produces a block every three seconds; your hash is recorded in the next one. The file never leaves your device. The proof becomes a permanent entry in a public ledger, replicated across every peer on the network.
Your file stays on your device. Only its 64-character fingerprint ever leaves your browser, signed with your low-privilege posting key. Hive's elected block producers include the transaction in the next block; every peer on the network replicates it. No calendar servers, no batching, no long "pending" state.
Your file is read with the Web Crypto API and reduced to a 64-character SHA-256 digest. The file is never transmitted.
Hive Keychain signs a custom_json operation with your posting key, the low-privilege key that cannot move funds.
The signed operation reaches a Hive node. Consensus selects the next block producer; every peer on the network validates and replicates it.
Hive reaches deterministic finality within the same block. No complex workflow, no "check back later". Anyone can query any peer and confirm your hash existed at that block time.
* Bitcoin-anchored services give probabilistic finality. The figure shown is the typical time-to-first-anchor on Bitcoin; deeper irreversibility (e.g. the 6-confirmation rule of thumb) adds ~1 hour on top. Hive's single-block finality is deterministic — no equivalent waiting period.
Every major timestamping service is listed below with its public specification. We've aimed for the comparison we'd want if we were choosing between them. The facts, and the situation each one is best at.
EverWitnessed Hive · open protocol |
OpenTimestamps Bitcoin · open protocol |
ScoreDetect SKALE · SaaS |
OriginStamp Bitcoin + ETH · enterprise |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finality | ~3s · single blockHive reaches consensus finality in one block. No re-org window. | 15–60 minutesCalendar servers aggregate hashes into periodic Bitcoin anchors. | ~3.5sSKALE L2 block finality. | Minutes to hoursDepends on aggregation cycle and anchor chain. |
| Cost | FreeResource Credits only. Works on brand-new, zero-balance accounts. | FreeDonation-funded calendar servers. | $11.31/moSaaS subscription (100 certificates/mo). | Enterprise onlyPricing via sales. |
| Verification | Any Hive peerOne API call to any node returns block number and time. | Bitcoin nodeOr a trusted explorer; fully trustless needs a local node. | ScoreDetect onlyService dependency for verification UI. | OriginStamp onlyAPI key required. |
| Pending state | NoneFinality in one block. No complex workflow. | Yes · upgradeInitial proof at calendar, upgraded to Bitcoin later. | None | BatchedProof available after aggregation cycle. |
| Privacy | Hash onlyFile never leaves browser. Record is public by design. | Hash only | Hash onlySome flows upload originals. | Hash only |
| Network | Hive L1Elected block producers, with the full chain state replicated across every peer on the network. | Bitcoin L1Longest-running blockchain record. | SKALE L2Security inherits from its validator set. | Bitcoin + EthereumDual-chain anchoring. |
| Open protocol | Yes, MITFour-field JSON. Anyone can read and write to Hive directly. | Yes.ots file format. | NoProprietary platform. | PartialAPI access, proprietary format. |
| Best when | You want proof right now, at no cost, on a platform that stays out of the way. |
You're archiving for decades and want Bitcoin's entire record behind your stamp. |
You want a polished SaaS with CMS plugins and don't mind the monthly fee. |
You're an enterprise buying on SLAs and existing compliance references. |
The on-chain payload is deliberately minimal: one integer for the version, one hash, and two optional fields for the commit / reveal flow. Filenames, descriptions, and tags belong to the service layer, not the chain.
The reference service at everwitnessed.net is an implementation, not the protocol. The protocol is MIT-licensed; anything you broadcast to Hive is yours, forever, independent of us.
1.required// Broadcast to any Hive node
["custom_json", {
"required_auths": [],
"required_posting_auths": ["everwitnessed"],
"id": "everwitnessed",
"json": "{\"e\":1,\"h\":\"6c1adcafe1cf72602fc9fff64d35304a649c27bff5ef16b2034fbe673c8b4c70\"}"
}]// Look up the transaction and decode its EverWitnessed payload.
import { createHiveChain } from "@hiveio/wax";
const chain = await createHiveChain();
const tx = await chain.api.account_history_api
.get_transaction({ id: "3f1614dc4abbb3fdf215a860a1865b5f55164fe0" });
// tx.operations[0].value.json is the {"e":1,"h":"<hash>"} payload.
// If h matches your local digest, the block time is the proof.# Look up the transaction and decode its EverWitnessed payload.
curl -s https://api.hive.blog \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,
"method":"account_history_api.get_transaction",
"params":{"id":"3f1614dc4abbb3fdf215a860a1865b5f55164fe0"}}' | \
jq '.result | {block_num,
id: .operations[0].value.id,
h: (.operations[0].value.json | fromjson | .h)}'EverWitnessed is a small project with a specific opinion: proof of existence should be instant, free, and independent of any company's runway. It should work without an account if you are only verifying. It should work on any Hive account if you are timestamping. It should be able to outlive the website that made it easy.
The service (this site, the indexer) is the convenience. The protocol is the record. Anyone can build their own interface. When you timestamp through EverWitnessed, the proof is not ours and not yours; it belongs to the Hive blockchain, replicated across every peer on the network.
Hive is a Layer-1 blockchain producing three-second blocks continuously, replicated by every peer on the network. Transactions reach deterministic finality, typically sub-second under normal network conditions, not the probabilistic "N confirmations" model of Bitcoin. That's what we build on.