• Transaction volume reached a record 99 million daily average transactions with Hedera Consensus Service handling 99%.
• Hedera saw 28 billion HBAR staked, which is 85% of circulating and 56% of total supply, aiding validators significantly.

Unraveling the Secrets Behind Hedera’s Remarkable Q3 2023 Ascendance: A Deep Dive into the Numbers and Narratives

Hedera, a public-permissioned PoS blockchain, is governed by the Hedera Governing Council, consisting of 29 global entities. This unique composition ensures a decentralized decision-making process. With services like Hedera Network Services and the Hashgraph Consensus Algorithm, it provides developers an optimized platform for creating decentralized apps.

In Q3 2023, the crypto market underwent some turbulence, witnessing drops in giants like BTC and ETH. Contrarily, Hedera’s native token, HBAR, demonstrated growth with a 7.6% QoQ increase, positioning Hedera as the 31st largest crypto protocol by its native token’s market cap. Such growth also reflected in Hedera’s financials, with its revenue surging by 30% QoQ, crossing the $1.0 million mark, majorly credited to the increase in transaction activity.

HBAR’s Role and Supply Dynamics

HBAR plays multiple roles within the Hedera Network – from paying gas fees to securing the network. Of the total 50 billion HBARs, 67% or 33.4 billion was in circulation by Q3’s end. The upcoming Q4 is expected to see another 2% unlocked, as indicated by the Hedera Treasury Management Report.

Network Metrics and Usage

Despite lacking major events like the prior quarter’s NFT prominence due to the Karateka game, Hedera managed to retain strong metrics. Q3 observed a new record with 99 million daily average transactions. Interestingly, despite this transactional surge, users benefited from fixed transaction fees, preventing increased costs.

Advancements and Integrations

While there was a decrease in active smart contracts, Q3 was pivotal for the Hedera community in their developer-focused approach. Major milestones included the integration of the JSON-RPC codebase and collaborations like the integration with Validation Cloud. Notably, the introduction of HIP-729 was pivotal, aiming for refined contract creation processes to better align with Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) equivalence.

Council Updates and Security

Hedera’s Governing Council remains at the heart of its operations and growth. The council ensures decentralized decision-making with equal voting rights among members. The quarter saw Dell Technologies and COFRA joining as new members, expanding the council to 29. Governance committees like TechCom, MemCom, and CoinCom continue to play their respective roles in steering Hedera’s trajectory.

Additionally, 28 billion HBAR was staked this quarter, mainly due to entities like HBAR Foundation and Swirlds staking their allocations, ensuring validators met the minimum requirements. Intriguingly, a significant portion of these staking entities opted not to collect rewards, highlighting their commitment to Hedera’s long-term vision.

Ecosystem Development and DeFi Landscape

With a Q3 Total Value Locked (TVL) of $31 million, Hedera occupied the 40th position among blockchain networks. SaucerSwap remained dominant, accounting for a whopping 87% of Hedera’s TVL. Noteworthy is Hedera’s 75% YoY TVL growth, surpassing the general market.

The Hedera Network also witnessed exciting developments in its stablecoin domain. Collaborative efforts resulted in a successful stablecoin remittance PoC pilot and the introduction of the Stablecoin Studio, simplifying stablecoin issuance and management for developers and organizations.

As Hedera continues its growth trajectory, its developments in Q3 2023 reflect a robust ecosystem, with a promising future ahead.