Social media has become the largest sector of the global economy, bigger than energy, food, and even finance. There are reasons that platforms sabotage themselves, and Hive and Youtool both demonstrate that fact. Hive could achieve the stated goal of providing a platform for free speech that cannot be censored, but it is tweaked so as to NOT achieve that goal.
Since the platform is not intended to succeed, it has succeeded at that. Whatever the covert goals of Dan and Ned actually were, it likely has NOT succeeded at them, because they're both gone.
Thanks!
Edit: BTW, lack of adoption was not the problem. Lack of retention is, and for the reasons you are well aware of.