What is Hedera?
Hedera is an enterprise-grade public distributed ledger network that utilizes a unique consensus mechanism called **hashgraph**. Its native cryptocurrency, **HBAR**, is an energy-efficient token that powers the platform's decentralized economy. Unlike wasteful Proof of Work (PoW) algorithms, Hedera uses a system of "gossip about gossip" and "virtual voting" to achieve consensus. This approach allows the network to be highly scalable, secure, and energy-efficient.
History of Hedera
Hedera Hashgraph was founded in 2018 by computer scientist Leemon Baird and technology executive Mance Harmon. The project is governed by a council of industry giants, including Google, IBM, Tata Communications, LG Electronics, and Deutsche Telekom, among other major corporations. The governance model is designed to provide stability and prevent any single entity from gaining control over the network.
The Hedera public network is a Proof of Stake (PoS) system driven by hashgraph consensus that exhibits **asynchronous Byzantine Fault Tolerance (aBFT)**, a high standard of security. This makes it possible for the platform to achieve fast transaction speeds, low bandwidth consumption, and high security. Hedera claims its hashgraph can process over 10,000 transactions per second, significantly faster than Bitcoin's 2.8 and Ethereum's 15. In 2022, Hedera announced plans to open-source its hashgraph code to promote adoption. The project has received over $127.8 million in funding from a group of 21 investors.
How Hedera Works
Hedera's consensus mechanism is based on a directed acyclic graph (DAG) structure rather than a traditional blockchain. This allows for transactions to be processed in parallel, rather than sequentially. The "gossip about gossip" protocol means that instead of sending data, nodes exchange information about transactions and their relationships, quickly reaching a consensus on the order of events. The "virtual voting" component allows each node to independently calculate a consensus without requiring a separate voting process, which further increases efficiency and reduces latency.
The public ledger on Hedera is stored on a mainnet composed of both **consensus nodes** and **mirror nodes**. Consensus nodes, which are currently run by the Hedera Governing Council but are planned to become permissionless, agree on the validity and sequence of transactions. Mirror nodes provide a way for developers to store and access historical data for analytics. Developers can interact with the network using a set of APIs to mint tokens, create accounts, call smart contracts, and record data. Each API call has a fixed transaction fee based on the required processing and storage.
What is Hedera Used For?
Hedera's high performance, low fees, and security make it suitable for a variety of applications. It is designed for use cases that require high throughput and low latency, such as:
* **Payments:** Its near-instant finality and low transaction fees make it a viable alternative for fast and secure payments.
* **Tokenization:** The Hedera Token Service allows for the creation, management, and transfer of native fungible and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
* **Decentralized Applications (dApps):** Developers can build dApps for various industries, including decentralized finance (DeFi), gaming, and supply chain management.
* **Data Services:** The network's consensus service can be used to create immutable, verifiable, and time-stamped logs of data.
Hedera's use of aBFT and its low latency make it highly resilient to attacks. The network is designed to provide fair access, tamper-proof timestamps, and transaction sequencing, making it an attractive platform for enterprises and developers alike.