Hedera (HBAR) is a public distributed ledger that uses the hashgraph consensus algorithm, a directed-acyclic-graph "gossip-about-gossip" mechanism distinct from a traditional linear blockchain. HBAR is the network's native coin rather than a token issued on another chain. Hedera supports Ethereum-compatible smart contracts through a JSON-RPC execution layer. As of 2026-08-31, HBAR trades near $0.0745, with a market capitalization of approximately $3.27 billion.
Hedera's governance is held by up to 31 enterprise and institutional organizations, using hashgraph consensus rather than competitive mining. This structure has attracted institutional pilots, including a UK tokenized-collateral FX trade involving Lloyds Bank, Aberdeen, and Archax. Daily network fees stood at $329.95 with 2,205 daily active addresses as of 2026-08-30, reflecting measurable on-chain usage alongside the network's enterprise governance model.
HBAR functions as a utility token rather than a governance token: network governance is exercised by Council member organizations, not by HBAR holders through on-chain voting. Holders use HBAR to pay transaction and smart-contract execution fees on the network, with daily network fees equal to daily revenue under Hedera's fee model.
Hedera has a fixed maximum supply of 50 billion HBAR, minted at genesis and not subject to further issuance beyond that cap.
Hedera's public network was announced in March 2018, three years after Swirlds, Inc. was founded in 2015 to develop hashgraph. Hedera raised funds through an accredited-investor SAFT private sale plus a public crowdsale that opened August 1, 2018, priced at $0.12 per HBAR, with the private round reportedly totaling around $100 million.
Hedera operates its own public distributed ledger rather than running on top of another blockchain, with HBAR as that network's native asset. Its consensus mechanism, hashgraph, is a directed-acyclic-graph "gossip-about-gossip" protocol, distinct from a traditional linear blockchain.
Hedera's hashgraph algorithm was invented by Dr. Leemon Baird, who co-founded the project with Mance Harmon; the two had worked together since 1993 and are both U.S. Air Force veterans. They founded Swirlds, Inc. in 2015 before Hedera's public network launched in 2018.
On April 29, 2022, Harmon and Baird stepped down from their Hedera Hashgraph, LLC roles as CEO and Chief Scientist to become co-CEOs of Swirlds Labs. Other named officers included Young Cho (CFO), Alex Popowycz (CIO), Tom Sylvester (General Counsel), and Sam Brylski (Chief Compliance Officer).
No single company issues Hedera; its development and maintenance are split across three entities. The Hedera Governing Council, up to 31 member organizations, owns network governance and the hashgraph algorithm's intellectual property. Swirlds Labs, founded by Leemon Baird and Mance Harmon, has served as the primary software-development and network-management provider since April 2022. Swirlds, Inc., founded in 2015, originally invented and commercialized hashgraph before selling its IP rights to the Council in 2022 under an open-source (Apache 2.0) commitment.
Hedera is governed off-chain by the Hedera Governing Council, up to 31 industry organizations across 11 industries, each holding one equal vote regardless of size. Members serve up to two consecutive three-year terms and vote on network technology, pricing, and security priorities, a structure intended to prevent any single entity from controlling the network. Named members include Google, IBM, Dell Technologies, Accenture, DBS Bank, Deutsche Telekom, Boeing, and FedEx. HBAR holders do not vote on governance directly.
Hedera enabled the UK's first tokenized-collateral FX trade in a pilot with Lloyds Bank, Aberdeen, and Archax, reported in 2026, extending the network's institutional real-world-asset use cases. Its Ethereum-compatible smart-contract execution layer (JSON-RPC/EVM support) and a creator-economy/NFT product push remained ongoing development priorities through mid-to-late 2026.
Hedera's Q1 2026 sustainability disclosure reported offsetting 15 metric tonnes of CO2 generated by network operations in the prior quarter, continuing its quarterly carbon-offset reporting practice.
Hedera has commissioned multiple third-party security reviews of its network and related components. Halborn conducted a security assessment of the Hedera network from October 29 to November 11, 2025, and a separate assessment of wHBAR's HTS connector smart contracts beginning April 24, 2025. NCC Group performed a code-review audit of the Hedera Transaction Tool in October 2024.
In July 2026, a roughly $9.05 million oracle-manipulation exploit hit Bonzo Finance, Hedera's largest lending protocol, via a manipulated third-party price feed; this affected a dApp built on Hedera rather than the core ledger itself.