A complete guide to Hedera Hashgraph: from Hashgraph technology to HBAR usage in 2025

Hedera Hashgraph is a public-distributed ledger platform and governing body designed for real-world enterprise adoption of decentralized applications (DApps), digital payments, and asset tokenization.

The project uses the Hashgraph consensus algorithm. It combines high performance and security to provide users and developers with a reliable infrastructure. Unlike traditional blockchains, Hedera offers unique features that positively impact its usage.

Content

• Hedera creation history: who is behind the project
• How Hashgraph works — an alternative to blockchain
• What is asynchronous BFT and why does Hedera need it?
• Benefits of Hedera: speed, scalability, fees
• What is HBAR token and why is it needed?
• Hedera Governing Council: who manages the platform
• Where Hedera Hashgraph will be used in 2025
• Hedera use cases: from CBDC to NFT
• Advantages and disadvantages of Hedera Hashgraph
• Development prospects and possible risks
• Conclusion: Why Hedera is a technology leader beyond blockchain

Hedera creation history: who is behind the project

Hedera was realized in 2017 by Leemon Baird and Mance Harmon. The project originated at Swirlds Inc. and the technical solutions were developed by Baird. The goal of Hedera was to provide security, speed, and fairness in distributed applications.

The founders of Hedera aimed to address the inherent weaknesses of traditional blockchains, such as limited scalability, high fees, and slow transaction processing. Hedera offers a more efficient solution by providing stability and security for decentralized systems.

Hedera Hashgraph, founded as a startup, received an investment of $100 million in 2018 for further development. A year later, in 2019, the development team unveiled an open beta version of its network for public use.

How Hashgraph works — an alternative to blockchain

Hashgraph is an alternative to traditional blockchain technology. It is a new way of recording and distributing data that uses a directed acyclic graph (DAG) to provide Asynchronous Byzantine fault tolerance (ABFT) consensus.

In blockchain systems, miners compete for the right to validate the same transactions, resulting in inefficient power consumption. In turn, the DAG architecture provides the ability to execute multiple independent computations in parallel, which significantly increases the speed of transaction processing and improves the energy efficiency of the entire network.

Hashgraph technology offers several key advantages over traditional blockchains:

• High throughput. The Hashgraph algorithm allows hundreds of thousands of transactions per second (TPS) and can support large-scale applications.
• Fairness. Transactions are ordered exactly as they are received, thereby preventing manipulation and anticipation.
• Stability. Technical and legal measures are taken to prevent branching while maintaining network integrity.

Hedera Hashgraph uses a unique consensus algorithm called Gossip about Gossip. This approach allows network nodes to exchange information about transactions not directly, but through neighboring nodes. This mechanism, unlike traditional blockchains, provides faster data processing speed.

What is asynchronous BFT and why does Hedera need it?

Asynchronous Byzantine fault tolerance (ABFT) сonsensus is the fundamental basis of Hedera’s security.

It provides a high degree of protection against attacks, including the famous 51% attack and other network attacks. Traditional blockchains use Proof-of-Work (PoW) or Proof-of-Stake (PoS), which are susceptible to various types of attacks and have limited scalability. Hedera’s Hashgraph consensus protocol, ABFT, is mathematically certified as the highest possible level of network security for distributed systems.

ABFT helps prevent branching (forks) in the data structure, which is especially important for ensuring transaction integrity and continuity. Asynchrony also means that the system is prepared to deal with delays and erratic data delivery times, making it particularly resilient to network attacks.

Benefits of Hedera: speed, scalability, fees

Hedera’s Hashgraph technology enables high transaction processing speeds and scalability. Unlike traditional blockchains, where transaction confirmation time can take several minutes, Hedera processes transactions within seconds.

Hedera’s scalability comes from its ability to process a large number of transactions per second (TPS). Currently, Hedera can process up to 10 000 transactions per second, which is significantly higher than traditional blockchains such as Bitcoin(7 TPS) and Ethereum(30 TPS).

Source: intellectsoft

What is HBAR token and why is it needed?

HBAR is a native token of the Hedera Hashgraph network.

It is designed to support the Hedera ecosystem and provides security and efficiency. It performs several functions:

1. Payment of fees. HBAR is used to pay transaction fees on the platform. This is required for operations such as creating and deploying smart contracts.
2. Staking. HBAR holders can participate in staking by allowing their tokens to be “verified” on the network in exchange for a reward. This process helps ensure the security and decentralization of the network.
3. Participation in management. Voting on the Hedera platform is done through HBAR. Token holders can participate in elections and make decisions regarding the development of the ecosystem.

The HBAR economy is built on the principle of supply and demand. Currently, the total number of HBAR is 50 billion tokens, among which more than 42,23 billion tokens are already in circulation. The balanced approach helps to avoid sharp fluctuations in token prices, which can be characteristic of less stable cryptocurrencies. The tokens were distributed as follows:

• Founders — 13,8%
• Swirlds — 8%
• Ecosystem Development — 24%
• Hedera Pre-Minted Treasury — 32,4%
• Employees — 4,4%
• SAFTS, Purchase Agreements — 17,4%

Source: coingecko

Hedera Governing Council: who manages the platform

One of the unique features of Hedera is its Governing Council, which consists of 39 leading companies and organizations around the world, including LG, Google, Boeing, IBM, and others. The Council manages important aspects of the network’s development, providing strategic direction and legal compliance.

Source: hederacouncil

Unlike many decentralized projects that rely on chaotic and disjointed governance, the Hedera Governing Council offers a centralized decision-making mechanism. Council members are elected for fixed terms and have equal voting rights, ensuring fair and balanced decision-making.

The council ensures stability and consistency in the development of the network, reducing the risks associated with abrupt changes in governance. This allows Hedera to adapt more quickly to changes in the market and legislation.

Where Hedera Hashgraph will be used in 2025

In 2025, Hedera is well positioned to become one of the leading platforms for creating decentralized applications and smart contracts. Due to its high performance and security, Hedera will be widely used in various industries, including finance, healthcare, public sector, and more.

Specifically, Hedera will be able to provide solutions for micro-payments, decentralized finance (DeFi) applications and digital identities. The ability to process millions of transactions daily will provide unrivaled efficiency and cost-effectiveness, which will attract more new users and developers to the platform.

In addition, Hedera has the potential to become a key player in data sharing and the Internet of Things (IoT) by providing a high-speed and reliable infrastructure for sharing data between devices.

Hedera use cases: from CBDC to NFT

Anyone can run a Hedera-based application on the network for various use cases such as:

• Payments. Secure, fast, and inexpensive peer-to-peer (P2P) payments using HBAR, stablecoins, and other tokens.
• Content authenticity. Control and public proof of legitimacy of personal documents such as academic qualifications.
• CBDC. Launching central bank digital currencies for national or global remittance purposes.
• Decentralized finance. The ability to eliminate costly third-party services and create financial markets, borrowing and lending protocols using smart contracts in the Solidity language.
• Decentralized identification. Deploying decentralized identification using secure and anonymous methods.
• NFT. Creating non-fungible token markets for issuing and trading tokens.

Hedera network team has launched its asset tokenization tool

It has a built-in compliance mechanism for regulators, including the SEC

Read more

Advantages and disadvantages of Hedera Hashgraph

Development prospects and possible risks

Hedera’s prospects look impressive due to its unique technical solutions and successful implementation of the ABFT consensus protocol. The popularity of the network and interest from large companies and developers confirm its potential to become a leader in the distributed registry industry.

However, Hedera still faces a number of challenges. One of the key ones is competing with major blockchain platforms such as Ethereum and Polkadot. Despite the technical advantages, Hedera needs to actively gain trust and attract new users. Legal and regulatory aspects that may affect the development of the network are also in question.

Conclusion: Why Hedera is a technology leader beyond blockchain

Hedera Hashgraph offers a number of innovative solutions that allow us to rightly state that it is one of the most promising platforms for creating decentralized applications. Hashgraphэs technology, high performance and security, and unique management system make Hedera an attractive option for developers and companies.

The HBAR token serves as the cornerstone of the ecosystem, providing the necessary funds and incentives for network participants. With all the aspects discussed and the challenges that lie ahead, Hedera has the potential to significantly impact the future of decentralized technologies.