How to Buy Hedera Hashgraph (HBAR)

Want to jump straight to the answer? You can buy Hedera Hashgraph on Crypto.com today!

Hedera Hashgraph (HBAR) proudly claims they are the 3rd generation of public ledger and many of the biggest tech companies like Google, IBM, Boeing Co. and T-Mobile seem to agree. Instead of using a blockchain like most other cryptocurrencies, Hedera Hashgraph runs on its own consensus algorithm called a Hashgraph. This algorithm uses nodes that communicate with one another to form an agreement on whether a transaction is valid or not. 

Hedera Hashgraph has gotten a lot of negative press from allegations of security weaknesses and being a relatively centralized system. But, if it's good enough for Google and IBM these claims may not be justified. Learn more about Hedera Hashgraph’s technology and how to buy it today.

What is Hedera Hashgraph?

Blockchains are the backbone of most cryptocurrencies.. A blockchain is a chain of blocks that house the transaction created, its hash string and the hash of the most recent block. The hash string acts as a unique identifier for the block, like a fingerprint. Connecting new blocks to the most recent block creates a linear chain. This chain can easily be verified because if there were any false transactions, that block wouldn't have the correct data to continue the linear chain.

The creators of Hedera Hashgraph see blockchains as an old, inefficient system and use a nonlinear chain to ensure fast and efficient transactions. To improve the old ways of a blockchain, the Hedera Hashgraph team created its own Hashgraph consensus algorithm. This method of consensus uses a gossip protocol to create a nonlinear chain. The nodes send transaction information to one another and then the receiving nodes pass that information on, again and again to reach a consensus between the nodes to verify a transaction.

The transaction information includes the transaction created, a digital signature from the wallet and, unlike a blockchain, includes the timestamp of the transaction, a hash string identifying the last message the node received and the message that node is sending out. This is what replaces the linear nature of traditional blockchains. Connecting these messages by including the hash of the message before allows the nodes to know the history of transactions.

This verification method is what allows the Hedera Hashgraph network to run an estimated 10,000 transactions a second. Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) can only run around 3 and 12 transactions per second, respectively. These cryptocurrencies are Hedera Hashgraph’s largest competitors which sacrifice transaction throughput for security and decentralization. 

This significant difference in network power also comes with much cheaper transaction fees at an average of $0.001 per transaction and less energy consumed at about 0.0017 kilowatt-hours per transaction. This efficiency is probably the most enticing part of Hedera Hashgraph, as big tech companies need high transaction throughput at a low cost. Hedera Hashgraph's ledger technology is already being used for things like tracking the COVID-19 vaccine's temperature-controlled supply chain.

Brief History of Hedera Hashgraph

The Hedera Hashgraph network was initially funded in 2018 through its initial coin offering (ICO) and developed by the company Hedera in Dallas, Texas. Cofounders Leemon Baird and Mance Harmon are both experienced technology developers and entrepreneurs, and the Hashgraph technology is licensed to Hedera through Baird's company Swirlds.

Hedera Hashgraph publicly launched its mainnet in September 2019, where its native token HBAR was priced at $0.08. From there, the project has struggled to gain attention in the crypto community mainly because of its relatively centralized and private approach to building its network. 

The project is controlled by Hedera and large institutions and isn't open source. On top of not incorporating some of the biggest concepts that make cryptocurrencies so reliable, the network is susceptible to a ⅓ market takeover. The majority of other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum are susceptible to a 51% takeover, so this ⅓ takeover is a really big hurdle the Hashgraph network may not overcome.

However, in recent months, HBAR has been making some major price jumps that have gained the platform a lot of traction. After the release of the COVID-19 vaccines, the National Health Service worked with Everyware, the digital asset-tracking service built on the Hedera Hashgraph network. This service was only implemented in select facilities in South Warwickshire, England, but gained Hedera Hashgraph international recognition. 

How To Buy Hedera Hashgraph

Best Cryptocurrency Wallets For HBAR

Best For

• ERC-20 tokens

buy nowsecurely through Ledger Hardware Wallet's website

Best Hardware Wallet: Ledger

Ledger is one of the most popular and trusted hardware wallet companies available. The Ledger Nano X hardware wallet offers optimal security for your private keys while also being easy to use. Many crypto traders use a software wallet because they are integrated in many trading platforms and are easy to manage and access from any computer or phone.

The Ledger Nano X can connect to devices with Bluetooth to access the Ledger app, where you can transfer funds through your device to the Ledger wallet. Like any hardware wallet, it is important to physically protect the Ledger Nano X device from random occurrences like flooding or fires that could destroy the device and erase your private keys. 

Best For

• Altcoin Trading

get startedsecurely through Binance US's website

Best Software Wallet: Binance

As talked about in step 1, Binance offers a top-of-the-line trading platform and digital wallet service to protect your crypto. Your individual wallet is insured against potential problems with Binance but isn't insured against personal issues with the wallet. 

It is important to read the directions and manage your wallet passwords and security correctly. Keeping your Binance wallet protected is easy and already done correctly by millions of current users. The largest benefit of this wallet is its accessibility from anywhere with Wi-Fi. Plus, it's directly integrated in the Binance exchange platform, making it extremely easy to use.

Trade, Sell or Convert your HBAR

Binance offers a wide range of finance functions to give its users full access to the financial power of crypto. With this, there are a lot of different ways to acquire HBAR. Using Binance's conversion platform is a hassle-free way to convert your currency for another. 

The price of these currencies changes every second, so the conversion price is an overestimation to reliably convert the currency and pay Binance for the service. The trading platform allows you to purchase the currencies directly at the price it's being sold for, but Binance takes a percentage fee. 

Selling your HBAR is the same process of buying it but in reverse. For any investor looking to hold or trade HBAR it is always smart to limit the amount of transactions needed so you can avoid unnecessary fees.

Current Crypto Prices

HBAR has had a very profitable year and continues to hold above its early prices. During the beginning of 2021, it jumped 1,250% in 3 months but has struggled with the downturn of the recent altcoin market. However, it's a fairly small coin with a lot of potential, so extreme price fluctuations should be expected.

Is Hedera Hashgraph a Good Investment?

Hedera Hashgraph doesn't have a strong following with the crypto community because it's not nearly as decentralized as many of its competitors, and without the support of big organizations, it wouldn't nearly be as successful as it’s been. But, it does have the support of big companies and has a strong development team that can bring this network to wide-scale implementation.

On top of having the technical potential, it’s still a relatively small project with only a $1.5 billion market cap. This amount of money might seem like a lot. But in the crypto world, the crypto parody coin Dogecoin (DOGE) has a market cap of $25.8 billion and the parody coin of that parody coin Shiba Inu (SHIB) has a market cap of $2.8 billion. So, there is still a lot of room for Hedera Hashgraph to grow, especially if it continues to help with big projects like COVID-19 vaccine distribution.