The current price of Hedera (HBAR) is $0.1489, with a 24-hour trading volume of $130.04 million. HBAR has experienced a 0.00% change in the last 24 hours. The circulating supply of HBAR is 42.38 billion tokens, with a maximum supply capped at 50 billion.
What Is Hedera?
Hedera Hashgraph is an enterprise-grade public distributed ledger technology (DLT) network designed to unlock new advantages in the digital world. HBAR serves as the native, energy-efficient cryptocurrency powering Hedera's decentralized economy. Instead of relying on wasteful Proof-of-Work (PoW) algorithms, Hedera utilizes a virtual voting mechanism. Nodes on the network share information through a "gossip about gossip" protocol, enabling rapid consensus and achieving 100% agreement through asynchronous Byzantine Fault Tolerance (aBFT).
A Brief History of Hedera
Hedera Hashgraph was co-founded in 2018 by computer scientist Dr. Leemon Baird and technology executive Mance Harmon. The platform is governed by a council of leading global enterprises, including Google, IBM, Tata Communications, LG Electronics, and Deutsche Telekom.
Hedera’s public proof-of-stake (PoS) network leverages the hashgraph consensus algorithm, which boasts aBFT—a feature that theoretically allows the platform to deliver high transaction speeds, low bandwidth consumption, and robust security. Hedera claims its network can process over 10,000 transactions per second, significantly outperforming Bitcoin’s 2.8 TPS and Ethereum’s 15 TPS.
Developers use HBAR tokens to pay for network services such as token transfers, fungible and non-fungible token management, and data logging. Network nodes earn HBAR tokens in exchange for providing bandwidth, computation, and storage resources.
In early 2022, Hedera announced plans to open-source the hashgraph code to capitalize on the growing demand for public DLT solutions. To date, Hedera Hashgraph has raised $127.8 million across nine funding rounds, with support from 21 investors, including Boeing HorizonX Ventures and Vestinwolf Alternatives.
How Does Hedera Work?
Hedera employs the hashgraph consensus model, which the company describes as a faster and more secure alternative to traditional blockchain consensus mechanisms. It functions as a public ledger—a highly secure, distributed database that anyone can view and edit.
In the hashgraph consensus system, each node stores a copy of the ledger and maintains only the latest entry. Public ledgers, which are foundational to decentralization and distributed consensus, are widely regarded as the most reliable method for storing verifiable information and assets. The ledger is hosted on a mainnet consisting of consensus nodes and mirror nodes. Consensus nodes, currently authorized and operated by Hedera's governing council, will eventually transition to a permissionless model, allowing anyone to run them.
Consensus nodes validate and sequence transactions while storing the most recent state of the network. Mirror nodes enable developers to store and access historical data for analytics and exploration in a flexible and cost-effective manner. Hedera's network services include a collection of APIs that support token minting, account creation, smart contract queries, and data editing on the ledger. Each API call incurs a fixed transaction cost based on the required processing and storage resources. Hedera also provides software development kits (SDKs) for popular programming languages like JavaScript, Java, and Go to simplify API integration.
What Is Hedera Used For?
Hedera Hashgraph aims to deliver the highest level of security conceivable, even in the presence of malicious actors, by utilizing aBFT (asynchronous Byzantine Fault Tolerance). This ensures network integrity and reliability under adverse conditions.
Transactions on Hedera Hashgraph are processed in parallel rather than in series, resulting in low latency. The network confirms transactions within seconds, providing 100% finality.
Hedera outperforms many blockchain alternatives by orders of magnitude, offering tamper-resistant transaction access, timestamps, and sequencing. The network operates under the governance of term-limited enterprises, ensuring reliability, avoiding authorized forks, and maintaining compliance with global data regulations.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What makes Hedera different from blockchain?
Hedera uses a hashgraph consensus mechanism instead of a traditional blockchain. This structure allows for higher transaction speeds, lower energy consumption, and greater security through aBFT, making it suitable for enterprise applications.
How can I buy HBAR?
HBAR is available on major cryptocurrency exchanges. You can purchase it using fiat currency or other cryptocurrencies. Always use a reputable platform and store your HBAR in a secure wallet.
What is the maximum supply of HBAR?
The maximum supply of HBAR is capped at 50 billion tokens. The circulating supply is currently over 42 billion, with new tokens released gradually according to the network’s emission schedule.
Is Hedera environmentally friendly?
Yes, Hedera is designed to be energy-efficient. Its proof-of-stake and hashgraph consensus mechanisms consume significantly less energy compared to proof-of-work blockchains like Bitcoin.
Can I stake HBAR?
Yes, HBAR can be staked to help secure the network. Staking rewards are distributed to users who delegate their tokens to trusted nodes, contributing to the network’s consensus and operations.
What are mirror nodes?
Mirror nodes are specialized nodes that replicate the entire transaction history of the Hedera network. They allow developers and analysts to access historical data without participating in consensus, enabling efficient data querying and application development.