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Computers / Hardware

What Is Hashgraph and Why does it Matter?

Before discovering what Hashgraph is, let’s talk about what a blockchain is.

Simply put, a blockchain is a chain of blocks linked sequentially. Thus, each block is directly connected to two other blocks, one preceding and the other following.

More specifically, in Bitcoin, the proof-of-work mechanism is in place so that any miner who wants to publish a block must build it and should use a significant amount of computing resources to show that it is authentic.

When two minors publish a block at the same time, by network consensus, only one block will be accepted. Thus, wasting the efforts and energy of the miner left out because he would not receive the overall reward – an incentive to keep the miners at work.

Hashgraph overcomes this problem. It allows the publication of an unlimited number of blocks at a time. In addition, it does not use a proof of work mechanism.

This means faster transaction confirmation – for which Bitcoin is condemned for its slowness. However, implementing Lightning Network can change the Bitcoin scaling problem.

Hashgraph alone is a data structure plus a consensus algorithm. In other words, it defines how data should be stored, retrieved and managed; and it specifies how a distributed network under its implementation should work.

Unlike many crypto-projects, which are mostly open-source and completely free to use, the Hashgraph is intellectual property of Swirlds, a platform designed for distributed applications.

However, the free use nature of Bitcoin has spawned many famous projects: Ethereum, Litecoin and Zcash, all of which started by taking the Bitcoin code base and adding additional functionality.

Hedera Hashgraph

An open blockchain such as Ethereum is being developed using the Hashgraph that is nothing other than Hedera Hashgraph. The network would provide three types of services: bitcoin, file storage, and smart contracts.

The platform can be used by anyone free, and without restrictions. One can hold a complete node and get paid for it; however, it is important to stake some funds.

Within Hashgraph, only non-empty address balances are stored by a node. This way it won’t be necessary to store massive amounts of transactional data.

Conclusion

Hashgraph is a revolutionary technology in crypto-space. Despite this, it is not open and not everyone can experiment with the algorithm.

The tastes of Bitcoin and Ethereum have been around for a long time and their reputation has been tested on several occasions. That said, Hashgraph has yet to see the tenacity of the real world. Only then can we know how much better it is. Otherwise, it would be great technology without being an effective problem solver.

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