If you are interested in blockchain technology, you might have heard of Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Solana. But have you heard of Hedera? Hedera is a public distributed ledger that aims to provide fast, secure, and scalable transactions for the decentralized economy. In this blog post, I will introduce you to some of the features and benefits of Hedera, and why it might be a hidden champion in the blockchain space.
Hedera is based on a novel consensus algorithm called Hashgraph, which was invented by Dr. Leemon Baird, the co-founder and chief scientist of Hedera. Hashgraph is a form of asynchronous Byzantine fault tolerance (ABFT), which means that it can achieve consensus among a network of nodes without relying on a leader or a fixed set of validators.
Hashgraph uses a technique called gossip about gossip, where nodes randomly share information about the transactions they have seen and the information they have received from other nodes. This creates a data structure called a directed acyclic graph (DAG), where each transaction is represented by an event that has links to its ancestors. By applying a set of mathematical rules to the DAG, nodes can determine the order and validity of transactions with high probability and finality.
How does Hashgraph consensus work?
Hashgraph is known for its high throughput and low latency, making it more efficient compared to other blockchain platforms. The network has the capability to process more than 10,000 transactions per second (TPS), with an average latency of 3-5 seconds. Additionally, Hashgraph is energy-efficient, as it doesn’t require intensive computation or proof-of-work to reach consensus. In fact, the network consumes less than 0.001% of the energy used by Bitcoin, making it an attractive option for those who are concerned about the environmental impact of blockchain technology.
Advantages of Hedera
- High throughput and low latency make Hedera suitable for applications that require real-time transactions, such as micropayments, gaming, or identity verification.
- Energy efficiency reduces the environmental impact of the network.
- Unique governance model ensures security and stability.
- The Hedera Governing Council consists of up to 39 reputable organizations from various industries and regions.
- The council members are also node operators who run the network infrastructure and validate transactions.
- Council members have equal voting rights and serve for a maximum of two consecutive three-year terms.
Services and features of Hedera
- Hedera Token Service (HTS) allows developers to create and manage custom tokens on Hedera, such as fungible tokens (FTs), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), stablecoins, or utility tokens.
- HTS leverages the native performance and security of Hedera and supports compliance features such as KYC/AML verification and token freezing.
- Hedera Consensus Service (HCS) allows developers to use Hedera as a trust layer for any application that requires consensus among multiple parties, such as supply chain management, data sharing, or voting systems.
- HCS enables developers to submit messages to the Hedera network and receive a timestamped and ordered record of them.
- Hedera File Service (HFS) allows developers to store and manage files on Hedera, such as documents, images, or videos.
- HFS supports encryption, deduplication, and access control features and can be used for applications such as digital certificates, medical records, or media streaming.
Conclusion
Hedera is a blockchain platform that offers fast, secure, and scalable transactions with its Hashgraph consensus algorithm. Its unique governance model involves reputable organizations from different industries and regions. Hedera has a variety of services and features for developers to build innovative applications.
