What is Hedera is a public distributed ledger network that uses Hashgraph, a directed acyclic graph consensus system, instead of a conventional blockchain. Its native cryptocurrency, HBAR, pays network fees, supports proof-of-stake security, and provides the economic utility for applications built on the network.
How Hedera’s hashgraph architecture works
Hedera’s Hashgraph consensus algorithm uses two main mechanisms: gossip about gossip and virtual voting. Nodes share transactions along with information about earlier communications, allowing the network to reconstruct how data spread. Because nodes hold the same event history, they can calculate how other nodes would have voted without sending separate voting messages.
This design provides asynchronous Byzantine fault tolerance, or aBFT. It is intended to let honest nodes agree on transaction order and timing even when some participants act maliciously or messages do not arrive within a fixed time. Hedera documentation describes the public network as capable of approximately 10,000 transactions per second, with 3–5-second absolute finality.
The network provides three major application services. Hedera Consensus Service orders and timestamps application messages, Hedera Token Service creates and manages fungible and non-fungible tokens, and Smart Contract Service supports Ethereum-compatible applications using Solidity and EVM tooling. Developers can also use Hedera SDKs, mirror nodes, and file and account services.
What is Hedera used for?
Hedera is designed for applications that need fast finality, predictable fees, high transaction volume, and verifiable records. Its main use cases include:
- Payments and settlement: HBAR and Hedera-based tokens can support payments, micropayments, and programmable transfers.
- Tokenization: Hedera Token Service can issue stable-value assets, securities, loyalty instruments, digital collectibles, and other tokenized assets.
- Supply chains: Hedera Consensus Service can record the order and timing of logistics, certification, and compliance events while operational data remains in existing systems.
- Identity and audit trails: Applications can timestamp credentials, records, and data changes to create verifiable histories.
- Decentralized finance and gaming: EVM compatibility supports decentralized applications, liquidity protocols, wallets, marketplaces, and in-game assets.
- Sustainability: Hedera identifies carbon markets, environmental credits, and sustainability reporting as important application areas.
- Artificial intelligence: Hedera Agent Kit provides JavaScript tools for AI agents interacting with Hedera services. Version 3 launched in July 2025, and version 4, announced in May 2026, added modular packages and policy and hook systems.
Hedera’s fees are designed around a USD-denominated schedule and are converted into HBAR when transactions are processed. This model aims to provide more predictable costs than fee systems based primarily on changing demand for block space.
Who is behind Hedera and where is it based?
Hedera was founded by Dr. Leemon Baird and Mance Harmon. Baird developed the Hashgraph consensus algorithm, and the founders formed Swirlds, Inc. in 2015 to develop and test the technology. Hedera Hashgraph, LLC was formed in 2017, the original whitepaper was published in 2018, and the public network became available through open access in 2019.
Hedera Hashgraph, LLC, doing business as Hedera Council, is a Delaware limited liability company in the United States. The council governs network software, pricing, treasury decisions, and membership. It has equal voting rights among council members, while Swirlds, Inc. retains a permanent seat.
Hedera’s development organizations have changed over time. Swirlds Labs was created during organizational changes in 2022, while current materials refer to the technical development organization as Hashgraph. An April 2026 update identified Eric Piscini as Hashgraph CEO. The independent Hedera Foundation, formerly the HBAR Foundation, focuses on ecosystem development and identified Charles Adkins as CEO in its 2025 rebrand announcement.
The Hedera Governing Council includes organizations such as Google, IBM, Boeing, Deutsche Telekom, LG, Dell, ServiceNow, Chainlink Labs, Hitachi, Nomura, the London School of Economics, and IIT Madras. The separate Hashgraph Group is a Swiss-based business and technology company headquartered in Pfäffikon, Schwyz, Switzerland.
HBAR tokenomics and supply
HBAR has a fixed total supply of 50,000,000,000 HBAR. CoinStats recorded a circulating supply of 43,847,753,983 HBAR. All tokens were created at network launch, so the protocol does not use mining-based issuance or an open-ended inflation schedule.
The September 3, 2026 treasury allocation divided the total supply into four categories:
| Allocation category | HBAR | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Development Costs and Licensing | 3,882,948,559 | 7.77% | |
| Purchase Agreements | 12,698,348,449 | 25.40% | |
| Network Governance and Operations | 8,116,201,648 | 16.23% | |
| Ecosystem and Open Source Development | 25,302,501,344 | 50.61% |
Treasury-controlled tokens can enter circulation through purchases, compensation, council operations, grants, and ecosystem development. This means the supply is fixed, but previously unreleased tokens can create market dilution as they are distributed. Hedera’s supplied materials do not establish a universal mechanism that permanently burns all transaction fees. Network fees instead support operations, node payments, staking rewards, and treasury functions.
Consensus mechanism and network security
Hedera combines Hashgraph consensus with proof of stake. A node’s consensus influence is weighted by the HBAR assigned or proxied to it. Hedera documentation states that transactions reach consensus after validation by nodes representing more than two-thirds of the network’s stake.
The model uses cryptographic signatures, hashed event histories, encrypted communications, and stake-weighted influence. Users can stake without locking their HBAR, change the node receiving their stake, and participate without slashing for node misbehavior. The network’s public nodes have historically been operated by Hedera Council members, making the operational model more institutionally controlled than a fully permissionless validator network.
Partnerships and ecosystem integration
Hedera’s ecosystem combines enterprise governance with public network access. Council and ecosystem participants span technology, telecommunications, finance, manufacturing, professional services, academia, and infrastructure. Integrations include EVM development tools, Solidity workflows, Hedera SDKs for JavaScript, Java, Go, Swift, and Rust, mirror nodes, and Chainlink-related infrastructure.
The codebase and core services have also been contributed to the Linux Foundation Decentralized Trust, where related open-source development is maintained through the Hiero project. The Hedera Foundation supports grants and ecosystem growth, while Hashgraph Group focuses on investment, technology, and enterprise deployment.
Competitive advantages and 2025–2026 roadmap
Hedera’s main differentiators are hashgraph-based aBFT consensus, fast finality, predictable fees, native token and consensus services, EVM compatibility, and identifiable institutional governance. These features target payments, tokenization, sustainability, enterprise data, and financial applications that require reliable ordering and cost visibility.
Recent development has focused on network releases, open-source infrastructure, smart-contract functionality, tokenization, and AI tooling. Consensus-node releases v0.74 and v0.76 reached mainnet on 10 June 2026 and 28 August 2026. The roadmap also includes Block Streams, improvements associated with HIP-1137, and scheduled token creation and update transactions through smart contracts under HIP-755 and HIP-756.
CoinStats recorded HBAR at $0.104, with a 24h change of +2.51%. Its market cap was $4.56B (rank #39), 24h volume was $486.28M, and its all-time high was $0.5692, the current price is 81.73% below it.