Hedera Hashgraph(HBAR)

HBAR is the native cryptocurrency of Hedera Hashgraph, used to power smart contracts and decentralized applications (DApps) on the Hedera network.

Hedera came into inception in 2018 with the combined efforts of Leemon Baird, a computer scientist, and Mance Harmon, a technology executive. The entity was later renamed to Hedera Hashgraph, the distributed ledger technology (similar to a blockchain) on which the Hedera network operates.

The general mission of Hedera is to provide a decentralized economy with fast, fair, secure applications, with its energy-efficient cryptocurrency HBAR.

Hedera, unlike most other cryptocurrencies, is governed by the Hedera Governing Council which consists of 39 global enterprises such as Boeing, Google, IBM, LG, and 11 different industries.

HBAR price

According to the HBAR live price chart, the coin saw its first major pump in February 2020 when Google announced it would be joining the Hedera Hashgraph network as a validator.

During that time, HBAR price in USD terms peaked at nearly $0.08 from $0.0099 — a 700%+ increase — between Jan. 2 to Feb. 12, 2020, setting a new all-time high. However, this trend was short-lived as HBAR followed a steady decline in the coming months — falling close to $0.01 again in March 2020.

HBAR price continued to show volatility throughout 2020, printing some promising spikes — going up to $0.05 and $0.06 In August, attempting to recapture its all-time high. 

However, Hedera started 2021 with a bang, going from around $0.03 to over $0.45 between Jan. 1 to March. 15, 2021 — a gain of over 1,300%.

While HBAR price hit a rough patch mid-year, along with the entire crypto market, it found its footing again when Hedera Hasgraph announced that it would be expanding its ecosystem by bringing on new partners, introducing non-fungible token (NFT) integration and minting capabilities. 

Subsequently, HBAR coin price reached a new all-time high of $0.5 on Sep. 15, charting a growth of 150% in just 15 days. At its 2021 all-time high HBAR's fully diluted valuation stood at $25 billion.

How HBAR works

HBAR, unlike most cryptocurrencies, does not use traditional blockchain technology. Instead, it uses hashgraph technology, which is patented by Hedera. 

Consequently, instead of using the common proof-of-stake (PoS) or proof-of-work (PoW) consensus protocols, Hedera uses ‘gossip about gossip’ or simply, the gossip protocol. This means, all the information is passed from one node to another based on random selection. Ultimately, all nodes end up syncing, ensuring that the information has been distributed to all network members.

The use of hashgraph technology has allowed Hedera to reduce costs and increase speed significantly.

The typical transaction fee for HBAR is around $0.0001, and the network can process up to 10,000 transactions per second (TPS), with a verification time of 3 to 5 seconds.

HBAR news, updates, and highlights

On Feb. 11, 2020, Google announced that it would be joining the Hedera Hashgraph Governing Council as a node member. The announcement also mentioned that Hedera had chosen Google Cloud as its cloud service provider. This had a significantly positive impact on HBAR price.

HBAR saw another big development in May 2020, when LG joined the Hedera Governing Council as a validator.

More recently, in February 2022, Hedera announced the launch of "Smart Contracts 2.0" which supported Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), allowing DApps on Ethereum to be deployed on the Hedera network.

In March 2022, the HBAR foundation made another big announcement, pledging $155 million to attract DeFi projects and retail users.

Frequently asked questions about HBAR

• Can I mine or stake HBAR?

Since Hedera has its own consensus mechanism you cannot mine HBAR. However, according to the Hedera website, coin holders will be able to proxy stake them in the near future.

• What are some of the best HBAR wallets?

HBAR has a wide range of wallets to choose from including Atomic Wallet, Coinomi and edge. If you are looking for a hardware wallet, Ledger is a great option. It is worth noting that Trezor does not support HBAR.  

• What can you do with HBAR?

HBAR can be used to pay for network services, including value transfer and smart contracts. According to the Hedera website, you will also be able to use HBAR to run network nodes and vote on transactions in the near future.

• How to buy HBAR?

You can buy HBAR by exchanging your BTC, ETH, and USDT tokens on exchanges like HitBTC and MEXC Global.