When I first reviewed Hive5 in late 2024, I called it one of my top three P2P lending platforms. Solid double-digit returns, a clean interface, a credible-looking team. I recommended it without hesitation.
I was wrong. Over the past year, enough has surfaced about Hive5 that I no longer trust the platform with my own money. I’ve removed it from my list of best European P2P lending platforms and pulled all affiliate links from this site.
This rewrite explains what changed.
The Credon Connection
Hive5’s majority shareholder is Andrius Rupšys, the entrepreneur behind Ruptela. What wasn’t clear when I wrote the original review is who built the loan management software Hive5 runs on, and what that person’s other ventures look like.
Juozas Rupšys, Andrius’s godfather, developed the creditonline.eu platform that powers Hive5. He also owned 100% of Credon P2P, a Croatian peer-to-peer lender that froze withdrawals in early 2023 and lost investor funds.
Same software lineage. Same family network. Same jurisdiction. Same business model. That’s not a coincidence I can shrug off.
Insider-Owned Loan Originators
The three loan originators currently funding Hive5’s marketplace (Ekspres Pożyczka in Poland, Ruptela in Lithuania, Mana Concept in Spain) share ownership with the platform itself.
In a normal P2P marketplace, the platform is the matchmaker. Investor money flows to independent borrowers, and the platform earns fees for facilitating the transaction. When the same people own both ends, you don’t have a marketplace. You have a closed loop where investor capital can be routed wherever the insiders need it.
That structure is also exactly what enabled some of the most painful collapses in European P2P history, including Envestio, Kuetzal, and Monethera.
I missed this in the original review. I shouldn’t have.
Pushback Against Critics
Critics in this orbit have faced pushback. Juozas Rupšys personally sued an independent reviewer over allegations published about him. Two critical YouTube videos disappeared after complaints. Reports of neutral Trustpilot reviews being blocked.
Pushing critics out of the conversation is one of the more reliable scam-precursor patterns I’ve seen in this industry. Healthy networks don’t need to do it.
Profitability Claims vs. Filings
In public communications around 2022-2023, Hive5’s CEO Ričardas Vandzinskas described the company as profitable. The 2022 financial filings showed a €755,000 loss.
Hive Finance Group says 2024 was its first profitable year on a consolidated basis: €11.5M revenue and €1.9M EBITDA, audited by UAB Veritas Auditas. That’s a real improvement and worth noting.
The earlier gap between public messaging and audited filings is still telling. It’s the kind of thing that shows how a company talks about itself when the numbers don’t yet back it up.
“But Withdrawals Are Working”
I know. I read the same Trustpilot reviews. SEPA payouts in 1-2 days. People getting their money. That’s true today.
It was also true of Envestio, Kuetzal, and Monethera right up until the day it wasn’t. P2P platform collapses don’t telegraph themselves. They look perfectly fine until they don’t, and the reassurance of yesterday’s withdrawal tells you almost nothing about tomorrow’s.
The structural problems (insider loan originators, opaque software lineage, founder ties to a collapsed platform, a pattern of suppressing criticism) don’t get cancelled out by the platform processing your last payout on time.
What I’m Doing
I’ve withdrawn my own funds from Hive5. I’ve taken it off my best P2P lending platforms list. I’ve removed every affiliate link to the platform from this site.
I’m not here to tell anyone what to do with their money. But if you’re invested in Hive5, take a hard look at the structural issues above and decide whether you’d put fresh capital in today knowing what you now know. If the answer is no, the question is whether you should be leaving existing capital in either.
Where things stand in 2026
Hive Finance Group’s 2024 numbers are audited and profitable (€11.5M revenue, €1.9M EBITDA, UAB Veritas Auditas). CreditOnline was acquired by Reiz Tech in November 2025 and Juozas Rupšys has exited the business. The group has appointed a new CEO and launched a new product, Firmeo. I’m noting these because a 2026 review should reflect 2026, and these are real developments. They don’t resolve the structural concerns above. Readers should weigh the present-day picture alongside them.
Bottom Line
Hive5 isn’t a confirmed scam. Withdrawals are still processing, the corporate entities exist on paper, and no regulator has issued a formal warning.
But “not yet a confirmed scam” is a low bar. The combination of red flags is enough for me to step away. The founder network’s ties to a P2P platform that froze investor funds. The insider-owned loan books. The pattern of pushing back on critics. Each one alone would warrant caution. Together they’re enough.
Summary
Hive5 has serious structural problems: insider-owned loan originators, paid Trustpilot reviews, legal action against critics, and a founder network tied to Credon, a P2P platform that froze withdrawals in 2023. I previously recommended Hive5; I no longer do, and have withdrawn my own funds. Not a confirmed scam, but not a platform I trust with capital.
Pros
- Withdrawals currently process within 1-2 business days
- Real corporate entity with ISO certifications
Cons
- Majority shareholder's godfather ran Credon, a P2P platform that froze investor funds in 2023
- All three loan originators (Ekspres Pożyczka, Ruptela, Mana Concept) are insider-owned
- Pays investors €25 for positive Trustpilot reviews
- Legal action and content removal aimed at critical reviewers
- Public profitability claims contradicted by 2022 filings (€755K loss)
- No regulatory oversight
- Short operational track record (since September 2022)
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