Review library / Coin
Enterprise DLT with doxxed team and council governance; 2023 exploit led to network shutdown.
Hedera is a public distributed ledger using hashgraph consensus, launched in September 2019 (later than initial 2018 expectations) by co-founders Dr. Leemon Baird and Mance Harmon, who raised $124M via SAFT in 2018. The network has a fixed 50 billion HBAR supply and is governed by a council of up to 39 global organizations. In March 2023, an exploit of the Smart Contract Service forced the council to temporarily disable network access. No regulator enforcement actions or lawsuits against Hedera were found in available records. The codebase was donated to the Linux Foundation in 2024 as Project Hiero.
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What they promised vs what happened
| Promised: Public mainnet launch in 2018 | Mainnet opened to the public on September 16, 2019late |
| Promised: Fixed total supply of 50 billion HBAR, created at launch and never to be increased | 50 billion HBAR created August 24, 2018; supply remains fixed as of 2026kept |
| Promised: Open Access launch with cryptocurrency (10,000 TPS), smart contracts (10 TPS), and file service (10 TPS) | Services launched at Open Access September 16, 2019 with stated throttleskept |
| Promised: 15-year coin distribution schedule (2018 version), later revised to 2019–2025 with ~34% released by end-2025 | Distribution schedule revised in v3 economics paper (June 2020); actual circulating supply evolution not independently verified in notesunclear |
| Promised: Testnet upgrade to version 0.79 scheduled for November 4, 2026 | Upgrade cancelled with no new date set as of November 2026broken |
What people are saying
60% positive · 40% negative · the rest neutral, estimated from the public posts and reviews in our sources.
- Enterprise partnerships and council governance seen as strength by supporters
- March 2023 exploit and network shutdown raised security concerns
- Debate over decentralization vs. permissioned council model
- Open-source transition to Linux Foundation (Project Hiero) viewed positively
- Cancelled testnet upgrade and roadmap adjustments noted by observers
Red flags
- March 2023 Smart Contract Service exploit led to temporary network shutdown by governing council
- Mainnet launch delayed from 2018 expectation to September 2019
- November 2026 testnet upgrade (v0.79) cancelled with no replacement date announced
- Coin distribution schedule revised multiple times (v1 to v3), creating uncertainty about tokenomics commitments
- Governance by permissioned council rather than fully open validator set raises centralization questions
Good signs
- Doxxed founders: Dr. Leemon Baird (Chief Scientist, hashgraph inventor) and Mance Harmon (former CEO)
- Raised $124M via documented SAFT offerings in 2018, disclosed publicly
- Fixed 50 billion HBAR supply maintained since August 2018 creation
- Codebase donated to Linux Foundation Decentralized Trust as Project Hiero (2024), committing to open-source governance
- Governing Council of up to 39 global organizations provides institutional oversight
- Public roadmap and treasury management documentation available
- No regulator enforcement actions, warnings, or lawsuits found in available records
- Listed on major exchanges (Coinbase, Kraken, Binance) since 2019–2021
Key facts
Launch dateSeptember 16, 2019 (public mainnet Open Access)
FoundersDr. Leemon Baird (Chief Scientist), Mance Harmon (co-founder, former CEO)
EntityHedera Hashgraph LLC (U.S.); codebase now under Linux Foundation (Project Hiero, 2024)
Funds raised$124 million USD via SAFT in 2018
Total supply50 billion HBAR (fixed, created August 24, 2018)
GovernanceHedera Governing Council (up to 39 global organizations)
All-time high~$0.57 (September 16, 2021, per aggregators)
Major exploitMarch 9, 2023 – Smart Contract Service exploit; network proxies disabled temporarily
Regulator actionsNone found in available records (SEC, CFTC, FCA, others)
Timeline
- 2018-08-24Hedera network launched; 50 billion HBAR created and held in treasury
- 2018Raised $124M via Simple Agreements for Future Tokens (SAFTs)
- 2019-09-16Public mainnet Open Access launched (cryptocurrency, smart contract, file services)
- 2020-06-03Hbar Economics Whitepaper v3 released, revising distribution schedule to 2019–2025
- 2021Hedera Governing Council approved 10.7 billion HBAR (~20% of supply) for ecosystem development
- 2021-09HBAR listed on Coinbase and Kraken; price reached all-time high ~$0.57
- 2022Official product roadmap made public
- 2023-03-09Smart Contract Service exploit; governing council disabled network proxies temporarily
- 2024Hedera codebase donated to Linux Foundation Decentralized Trust as Project Hiero
- 2026-11Testnet upgrade to v0.79 (scheduled Nov 4) cancelled; no new date set
Their side
Hedera has not issued a consolidated public response to all criticisms in the notes. Following the March 2023 exploit, Hedera published incident reports on its blog explaining the Smart Contract Service vulnerability and the council's decision to disable network proxies during investigation. The company describes its governance model and tokenomics revisions as part of its transparency and decentralization roadmap, documented in official whitepapers and council materials. Regarding the cancelled November 2026 testnet upgrade, no official explanation for the cancellation or revised timeline was found in the provided sources.
Bottom line
Hedera is a legitimate enterprise-focused public ledger with a known team, transparent governance by a global council, and a fixed token supply, but it has experienced a serious 2023 exploit that required network shutdown and has a history of roadmap adjustments including a recent cancelled upgrade. A careful person should recognize that council-governed networks carry different decentralization trade-offs than fully permissionless chains, verify current security practices post-2023 incident, and treat roadmap timelines as aspirational rather than guaranteed.
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Sources
- Hedera – Journey
- Hedera Council – Treasury Management
- Hedera Blog – A New Era for Hedera (Project Hiero)
- Hedera – Official Roadmap
- Hbar Economics Whitepaper v6 (PDF)
- Hedera Council – FAQ
- Hedera Blog – Mainnet Open Access Announcement (2019)
- Hedera Blog – New v3 Hbar Economics Whitepaper
- CoinDesk – Hedera coverage
- CryptoTicker – Hedera Testnet Upgrade v0.79 Cancelled
How we review: our AI agents read official materials, independent news, regulator databases and public user reports, then score delivery, transparency, legal record, money and community. Allegations are attributed to their source. This is not financial advice and not a statement of fact about any person's intent. Are you Hedera? Send us a correction or your side, and we'll re-check and update this page.
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