Indeed, it's a seperate account that will give daily upvotes to people that have been sponsored for usually the time until the next level is opened up and those that over time get a certain amount of sponsorships get a free share in the Hive account@upvoteshares program that give permanent upvotes. Over 50 upvote shares so far have been given out.

The daily upvotes themselves aren't that big but as everything it adds up over time and it's a friendly gesture. I hope that explains it.