$HBAR (Hedera Hashgraph) is the cryptocurrency that powers the Hedera network, which is a system like blockchain but built differently. Instead of using traditional blockchain technology, Hedera uses something called the hashgraph which is a special kind of distributed ledger that's faster, more secure, and uses much less energy than most blockchains. In fact, HBAR's energy use per transaction is extraordinarily low! A study by University College London found it consumes just 0.000003 kWh (3 microโkWh) per transaction.
It is the greenest public DLT measured in the top 100, outperforming every major PoS blockchain and outperforming Bitcoin and Ethereum by several orders of magnitude. HBAR is both faster and greener than Solana, Cardano and Avalanche.
HBAR was officially launched in September 2019, after a test phase and a token distribution event. The company behind it, Hedera Hashgraph, was founded in 2018, and the technology was originally developed by Dr. Leemon Baird, a computer scientist and former Air Force Academy professor.
There is a maximum total supply of 50 billion HBAR tokens. That number is fixed and no more will ever be created. Not all of them are available yet. Tokens are being released slowly over time through a schedule that has been published by Hedera and governed by the Hedera Governing Council which is a group of global companies and institutions like Google, IBM, Boeing, and others.
As of today, about 42.391 billion HBAR tokens are in circulation. The remaining tokens are being unlocked gradually, with full circulation expected by 2031. The release schedule is designed to be slow and predictable, helping avoid sudden price shocks from too many tokens entering the market at once.
The Hedera public mainnet has maintained 100% uptime since its open access launch in September 2019. This means the network has never gone offline, never halted block production, and has consistently processed transactions with finality in seconds.
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๐โก๏ธ While individuals can use it, Hedera is designed for real companies like banks, supply chains, energy companies, governments, etc. The system is built to handle millions of secure, fast, and low-cost transactions per day, which is ideal for: tracking goods and verifying products, processing payments, managing carbon credits and sustainability data and running decentralized apps and services.
๐โก๏ธ If a company wants to build something on Hedera like a payment app, a game, or a system to track products then they need HBAR to pay for it. People also use HBAR to Stake which means locking up their HBAR to help protect the network, and they earn rewards for doing that. So the more people and businesses use Hedera, the more HBAR gets used.
๐โก๏ธ Avery Dennison, a global packaging company, uses Hedera to fight product counterfeiting and make supply chains more transparent. They record each item's journey on Hedera so everyone can verify itโs genuine.
๐โก๏ธ Financial institutions like Shinhan Bank (South Korea) use Hedera to process fast and very low cost cross-border payments. Much cheaper and quicker transfers than traditional methods.
Because HBAR is required to use the Hedera network, the more companies and individuals that use it, the more demand there is for HBAR. With a fixed total supply of 50 billion tokens, increased network activity combined with limited supply could lead to a rise in value over time.
In short, $HBAR 's core purpose is utility. It powers the network, and its long-term value depends directly on how widely the network is adopted and used.