What if I told you that there was cryptocurrency out there that was managed by a group of Fortune 500 companies like Alphabet at IBM, used for a range of interesting projects and use-cases, and can be purchased for just $ 0.10 per token? And one more thing – this is not a blockchain. That’s really it Hedera Hashgraph (HBAR -1.61%) ay.
What is Hedera Hashgraph?
Hedera Hashgraph is a distributed ledger of transactions, like other cryptocurrencies, but Hedera is different from its peers because it does not use blockchain technology. Instead Hedera uses a consensus algorithm called hashgraph, developed by its co-founder, computer scientist Leemon Baird. Hashgraph technology is patented, so Hedera is unique because it is the only cryptocurrency that uses this technology. In a hashgraph, different nodes within the network “gossip” with each other to create a time-sequenced record of all transactions.
Photo source: Getty Images.
Fast, cheap, and powerful
Hedera said this hashgraph technology is “a faster, safer alternative to blockchain mechanisms.” Hedera has a throughput of 10,000 transactions per second with finality within seconds. The other advantage of using Hedera is the low fee – these transactions cost a fraction of a cent. This combination of low cost and impressive performance has attracted many projects to the Hedera ecosystem.
Blue-chip supporters
Hedera is supported by many large blue-chip companies from within the tech industry and outside of it. Hedera is overseen by a board of governors that includes executives from technology giants like Alphabet, Service Today (NOW -0.02%), and IBM; such as manufacturers Boeing at Avery Dennison; and well -known global telecom companies such as Deutsche Telekom at Tata Communications.
From streams to drones
Having this fleet of Fortune 500 companies on board is all good, but it’s not worth anything if they don’t build the project. Cryptocurrency skeptics sometimes say that crypto is a “solution seeking problem.” But Hedera is already in use in many real-world use-cases today, and many innovative projects are already being done on Hedera.
For example, Tune.FM is a streaming service built on Hedera that claims it pays artists on its platform up to 90% of streaming revenues. This large compensation ratio reduces the payout of traditional streaming services. Tune.FM used Hedera to mint and issue its JAM tokens, which can be used to pay artists through micropayments, as well as NFTs that artists can use to raise funds and give fans have access to uniquely owned artwork or limited releases by favorite artists. Tune.FM chose to build Hedera for this project because of low transaction fees and near-instant settlement times.
Outside of the music world, Neuron is experimenting with using Hedera to track flight information for drones, and Avery Dennison’s atma.io cloud platform will work with Hedera to help companies track carbon footprint of their products throughout their life cycle using distributed ledger technology.
Did Hedera buy?
Thanks to both its consensus approach and its governing council stacked with industry -leading companies and the fact that it seems to be gaining traction across a wide range of industries, Hedera has a unique position within the crypto space. That’s why I view Hedera as a great addition to a long -term cryptocurrency portfolio for risk -tolerant investors.
It is important to note that we are still in the very early stages of cryptocurrency adoption, so it is likely to be a volatile, high-risk, and high-reward investment. It is not clear who will win and who will lose. However, based on its bona fides, I think Hedera is a solid choice to include in a basket of cryptos that may one day be larger than they are today.