Decentralized Finance (DeFi) is seeing extraordinary growth, which is expected to continue indefinitely. However, while being in its early stages, it’s becoming increasingly evident that the distance between the DeFi space and the moon (a reference to the popular Dogecoin meme) is determined by the speed with which interchain transfers can be completed.

When it comes to employing a single-chain platform for transactions, there are several limitations. Single-chain systems are becoming obsolete as more scalable cross-chain alternatives are developed. Harmony is a cross-chain initiative that has lately gained a lot of attention (native token: ONE). In this article, we’ll look at how Harmony addresses scalability challenges in the DeFi domain and how to buy Harmony (ONE) token.

Let’s dive in!

What Is Harmony 

Harmony, built as a Layer 2 blockchain platform on the Ethereum network, simplifies the development of decentralized apps (DApps) on the network.

Because of Ethereum’s high gas prices, more altcoins are developing scaling solutions and competing to dethrone Ethereum as the most popular network for developing DApps. Unlike many other systems in this category, Harmony collaborates with Ethereum rather than competing with it.

Harmony employs a technology known as sharding to divide the blockchain network into parallel chains known as shards to increase network performance and efficiency at a lower cost. Because of this method, transactions on the platform are processed in less than 3 seconds and cost up to 100 times less than conventional blockchain transactions.

Harmony uses the Proof of Stake consensus mechanism for its governance token, ONE, similar to many other new tokens. Proof of Stake (PoS) is less costly, uses less energy, and allows for a higher degree of decentralization than proof of Work (PoW). Owners of the ONE token have a vote in the Harmony platform’s decision-making and can earn passive revenue by staking.

The Harmony network’s unique validation mechanism is a primary reason for its broad popularity. The number of verified nodes is determined by the number of tokens staked. As a result, higher-staking validators operate more nodes than lower-staking validators. The Harmony platform now has 1,000 active nodes.

What Is ONE

Harmony features its native token, called Harmony ONE, like many other Layer-2 platforms. Harmony’s name stresses the company’s goal of assisting open consensus methods for billions of people across the globe.

The native token ONE of the Harmony protocol is used for

1. Paying network transaction fees.

2. Participating in the open governance mechanism of Harmony.

3. Staking in exchange for block rewards as a delegator or validator.

Harmony offers a steady reward of 441 million ONE to validators every year. Transaction fees are burnt to achieve a net-zero state, which will balance the ONE allocated for block rewards.

What Makes Harmony Unique

Harmony aims to reinvent block generation by focusing on processing speed and validity. Using the sharding strategy, the network developers were able to drastically reduce transaction validation time.

Harmony established the Verifiable Random Function (VRF) for impartial and unexpected shard membership to safeguard nodes and secure the validation process. This means that nodes and validators are assigned and reassigned according to a randomized process.

Project’s harmony grants program aimed at supporting innovation and attracting developers to the Harmony main net.

Platform Strengths

Secure, Random State Sharding

By bringing the greatest research to production, Harmony One has overcome the blockchain trilemma. Sharding has been shown to grow blockchains while maintaining security and decentralization.

They shard not just our network nodes, but also the blockchain states, allowing for linear scaling in all three elements of computers, transactions, and storage.

To prevent single shard assaults, we need a big enough number of nodes per shard and cryptographic randomness to re-shard regularly. Each shard includes 250 nodes to ensure high protection against Byzantine behavior. Harmony employs the Verifiable Delay Function (VDF) to achieve unbiased and unexpected shared membership.

Rapid Consensus with Immediate Finality

For quick consensus of block transactions, one has innovated on the battle-tested Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance (PBFT). In Harmony Mainnet, the Fast BFT (FBFT) results in reduced transaction costs and one-block-time finality.

They employ constant-sized Boneh–Lynn–Shacham (BLS) signatures to commit blocks in a single round of consensus messages. Against antagonistic or absent leaders, we achieve a 2-second block time with view changes in production.

Harmony Mainnet went live in June 2019. The network has generated 30 million or more blocks, with 450 thousand or more transactions in publicly traded, native ONE tokens.

Harmony ONE Tokenomics

According to the data on CoinStats, ONE has a circulating supply of 11.7 billion ONE tokens and a market capitalization of around $2.3 billion.

At the time of writing, the Harmony price per token is $0.14, and around $73.8 million worth of Harmony ONE tokens were traded in the past 24 hours.

Although there is no maximum supply, inflation is used to reward stakeholders. At first sight, ONE appears to be a deflationary token, but this is not the case. Every year, a fixed quantity of 441 million ONE is created, and half of all staked tokens from unavailable nodes are burnt. As more users join the network, this serves to offset the issue of new tokens and steer the inflation rate toward zero.

Where Can I Buy Harmony Cryptocurrency

Harmony ONE tokens can be purchased on all the major cryptocurrency exchanges. So let’s look into some of the leading exchanges to buy Harmony!

Uphold

Uphold, a leading exchange in the United States and the United Kingdom is an experienced and incredibly inventive trading platform that should be able to suit your trading demands across a variety of cryptocurrencies, including Harmony (ONE). Apart from the trading platform’s simplicity of use and creative features, what distinguishes Uphold is its industry repute.

Uphold provides a very user-friendly trading experience on both desktop and mobile apps. The trading view is customizable with the assets you trade the most, and it is incredibly easy to navigate while maintaining a modern style on both desktop and mobile. It is a popular and appropriate choice, especially for beginners.

Binance

Binance is one of the best-known cryptocurrency exchanges. The advantages of buying Harmony (ONE) on this exchange include lower fees than other exchanges and improved liquidity, which allows you to purchase and sell rapidly to capitalize on market-moving news.

This exchange is ideal for investors from Australia, Canada, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and other countries. Most tokens are unavailable to residents of the United States.

Gate.io

Gate.io, which was founded in 2013, has evolved into a recognized trading platform. While it is not the most popular exchange, it offers users an easy-to-use interface for beginners while yet keeping comprehensive and sophisticated charts for traders of all skill levels – including technical traders. The exchange has a huge number of cryptocurrencies, including Harmony (ONE), and is frequently the first to introduce new tokens.

This exchange accepts citizens of the United States, except for New York and Washington State.

KuCoin

KuCoin is a well-known crypto exchange, and it is also one of the most competitive in terms of fees and trading prices. The exchange has grown tremendously since its early days of allowing just crypto-to-crypto trade. It currently provides a wide range of services, including peer-to-peer trading and credit or debit card purchases.

KuCoin presently supports the trading of Harmony (ONE) as well as over 300 other popular tokens. It is frequently the first to offer new tokens for purchase.

BitYard

BitYard is a cryptocurrency exchange that was founded in 2019 and enables the trade of over 100 cryptocurrencies, including Harmony (ONE). BitYard, based in Singapore, serves traders in over 150 countries, including Australia, Canada, Singapore, and the United States.

The exchange is regulated and licensed in several jurisdictions, including Singapore’s ACRA (Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority) and the United States’ MSB (Money Services Business) (a license issued by FinCEN.)

BitYard’s fees are highly competitive and in line with those of other crypto exchanges in the digital assets market.

US residents are currently accepted on this exchange.

Huobi Global

huobi homepage
Huobi Global homepage

Huobi Global was founded in 2013 and has since grown to become one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, with a total trading volume of US $1 trillion. Huobi today serves more than 5 million users in over 130 countries, accounting for half of all digital asset transactions in the world. Huobi Global does not presently welcome residents from the United States or Canada.

Huobi Global is one of the leading exchanges that presently supports Harmony (ONE) trading.

WazirX (INDIA Only)

WazirX homepage

WazirX is India’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, with over 400,000 users, and it is continuously increasing. They are one of the most recognized exchanges that currently offer Harmony (ONE) trading options and welcome clients from all around the world. This exchange is part of the Binance Group, which ensures excellent service.

How Can I Buy ONE Harmony

Harmony (ONE) can be easily acquired through cryptocurrency exchanges; however, the Coinbase app and Coinbase wallet do not support Harmony ONE token trading.

To buy Harmony ONE, follow these simple steps:

Step #1:  Find a Cryptocurrency Exchange

Fee, security, and payment methods differ between cryptocurrency exchanges, so you’ll have to do some research to find the one that’s right for you. We had listed the 7 best cryptocurrency exchanges above. As a beginner, you don’t need a large number of features, and you can easily change exchanges later.

Step #2: Create an Account

Go to the exchange’s website to set up an account. Click “sign up” to get to the account creation page, where you can fill out your personal information, such as your name, email address, mobile number, proof of address, etc.

Step #3: Fund Your Account

Once your account has been verified, log in and go to the dashboard to deposit with your preferred payment method to buy Harmony ONE. You can fund your account with a bank transfer, credit or debit card, or with Bitcoin from a cryptocurrency wallet.

Step #4: Buy Harmony

After that, complete your Harmony purchase by entering the amount you wish to spend and clicking the “buy” button.

Cryptocurrency Wallets for Harmony 

Best Hardware Wallet: Ledger

Ledger homepage

Ledger is the most well-known hardware wallet in the market today. The gadget is a hardware wallet that can be used offline. Depending on whether you want to use your PC or a mobile device, Ledger also connects through Bluetooth and USB. It’s also a lot easier to protect, store, and manage your assets with Ledger’s app.

Best Software Wallet: Trust Wallet

Trust Wallet is a decentralized mobile software wallet, which means it does not store your funds and instead relies on the blockchain for everything. The best feature is that all of Trust Wallet’s users’ personal information and keys are encrypted.

Can You Buy Harmony on Crypto.com

On Crypto.com, you can purchase harmony (ONE) with the steps mentioned above. It is the best platform for individuals interested in purchasing cryptocurrencies.

Can You Buy Harmony on Binance

Yes, Harmony (ONE) is available on Binance. To begin, you can use a credit or debit card to purchase in specified fiat currencies. Go to the [Buy Crypto with Debit/Credit Card] page, choose your currency, and then enter ONE in the [Receive] area. To complete your purchase, Click [Continue] and follow the on-screen instructions.

Buy ONE on Binance

You can also exchange ONE for other cryptocurrencies. You can obtain a list of possible trading pairs by going to the Exchange view and typing “ONE” in the trading pair search area. More information on how to use the trading view can be found at How to Use TradingView on the Binance Website. ONE can also be purchased via decentralized exchanges (DEX) and marketplaces such as SushiSwap.

How Is the Harmony Network Secured

A new version of the proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus is introduced in Harmony. This mechanism, known as effective proof-of-stake (EPoS), allows hundreds of validators to stake at the same time. This consensus mechanism was created in line with the Harmony network sharding concept.

EPoS, as opposed to proof-of-work (PoW) consensus procedures, is designed for speedier processing times and increased scalability. While PoW necessitates a large amount of electrical and computing power, staking consensus methods rely on a large number of value holders who act as validators.

Harmony is also considering increasing staking incentives to attract additional node operators. The Harmony Open Staking program stimulates network participation and rewards stakeholders with the most ONE tokens.

Harmony ONE: Pros and Cons 

Pros

  • Harmony is the first Proof of Stake sharding protocol.
  • Is Harmony truly speedier than its rivals? It is, indeed. It not only offers fast speeds but also has the infrastructure required for increased scalability and dependability.
  • Harmony appears to be getting it right with its partners as well. It debuted in the crypto market with an initial exchange offering (IEO) and investment from Binance Labs, indicating that the team understood exactly what they wanted.
  • NFTs are a huge deal in the realm of digital finance, but the hefty gas prices on Ethereum have deterred a lot of people from buying them. Harmony has joined the roster of cryptocurrency alternatives vying for a lower-fee NFT marketplace.

Cons

  • Harmony’s flaws are already being addressed by Ethereum and Zilliqa. Is Harmony a better option? Probably. But if meme coins have taught us anything, it’s that good use cases aren’t always enough to make a cryptocurrency popular. Rather, the public is interested in the buzz — and whatever choice the crypto market considers to be the “best.”
  • Harmony’s efficacy is dependent on advanced technology such as the 5G network, which is currently unavailable in most regions of the world.

Is Harmony ONE a Good Investment

Even though considerable work has to be done, the Harmony Project has been seen as a solution to inadequate scaling and interoperability, as well as a valuable basis for DApp developers will be able to grow their apps and transactions.

Harmony intends to be a top crypto network recognized for its speed and efficiency, and it’s well on its way. The platform delivers on its promise of reduced transaction and gas costs.

As with any other cryptocurrency or platform, ONE will rise in value as Harmony gains traction. Perhaps in the future, we’ll see additional uses for Harmony ONE besides purchasing, trading, and staking.

Conclusion 

Despite being in a crowded sector, the Harmony network has made the wise decision to harness Ethereum’s massive user base rather than competing with it.  The market is still in its early stages, and there is no obvious winner. Harmony’s approach to addressing the blockchain’s fourth trilemma — privacy — might prove to be a competitive advantage. However, Harmony is transitioning from a cross-chain solution to a completely decentralized platform. We’re interested to see if the Harmony token will continue to be popular once Ethereum 2.0 is fully implemented.

You can also visit our CoinStats blog to learn more about wallets, cryptocurrency exchanges, portfolio trackers, tokens, including, How to buy Ethereum and get buying guides on other cryptocurrencies.

Investment Advice Disclaimer: The information contained on this website is provided to you solely for informational purposes and does not constitute a recommendation by CoinStats to buy, sell, or hold any securities, financial product, or instrument mentioned in the content, nor does it constitute investment advice, financial advice, trading advice, or any other type of advice.

Cryptocurrency is a highly volatile market and sensitive to secondary activity, do your independent research and only invest what you can afford to lose. Performance is unpredictable, and the past performance of Harmony is no guarantee of its future performance.

There are significant risks involved in trading CFDs, stocks, and cryptocurrencies. Between 74-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider your circumstances and obtain your advice before making any investment. You should also verify the nature of any product or service (including its legal status and relevant regulatory requirements) and consult the relevant regulators’ websites before making any decision.

  • Rahul Mantri

    Rahul Mantri is an author, investor, and public speaker with over 7 years of experience writing about emerging technologies under his belt. He has produced a number of widely acknowledged articles and has contributed to a lot of tech journals. He has a background in finance as well as technology and holds IBM Blockchain Essential & Developer Certification. He is a voracious reader and his energetic talent of engrossing new words is his entrancing trait. Understanding the complexities of technology and writing prodigious technology blogs serves as a perfect example of his ability. After discovering cryptocurrency & blockchain technology for several years and drawing on his skills in finance and technology, he made his aim to enlighten people all around the world about digital currency.

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