Hedera (HBAR) is an enterprise-grade public distributed ledger that uses a unique consensus algorithm called Hashgraph — a patented alternative to blockchain that achieves extremely high throughput (10,000+ TPS), very low fees (fractions of a cent), and fast finality (3–5 seconds) without sacrificing security or fairness. Unlike traditional blockchains, Hashgraph doesn’t use blocks or miners: instead, nodes share information through a “gossip about gossip” protocol combined with virtual voting to reach consensus efficiently.
Hedera is governed by the Hedera Governing Council — a rotating body of up to 39 global enterprises including Google, IBM, Boeing, Deutsche Telekom, LG Electronics, and Standard Bank. This council-based governance model is a deliberate design choice to provide institutional stability and compliance assurance, distinguishing Hedera from more decentralised networks. Hedera’s services include: Hedera Token Service (HTS) — native token and NFT issuance; Hedera Smart Contract Service — EVM-compatible contracts; Hedera Consensus Service (HCS) — a decentralised logging and ordering service used by enterprises for auditable records; and Hedera File Service. HBAR is used for fees, staking, and network security. Hedera is increasingly being adopted for sustainability tracking, supply chain, and AI data provenance applications.
Example: A global supply chain company uses Hedera Consensus Service to create an immutable audit trail of product movements across 50 countries — processing 10,000+ events per second with sub-cent fees.
Learn more: Hedera — Learning Centre
