# Hedera review: Trust Score 72/100 (Solid)

Source page: https://vaultx.llc/reviews/hedera · independent VaultX review by Rex · updated 2026-11-09

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.

**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

**Green flags**
- 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

**Sources**
- Hedera – Journey https://hedera.com/journey/
- Hedera Council – Treasury Management https://hederacouncil.org/treasury
- Hedera Blog – A New Era for Hedera (Project Hiero) https://hedera.com/blog/a-new-era-for-hedera/
- Hedera – Official Roadmap https://hedera.com/roadmap/
- Hbar Economics Whitepaper v6 (PDF) https://hedera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/hh-hbar-coin-economics-paper-060320-v6.pdf
- Hedera Council – FAQ https://hederacouncil.org/faq
- Hedera Blog – Mainnet Open Access Announcement (2019) https://hedera.com/blog/hedera-hashgraph-public-mainnet-open-access-planned-for-september-16th-2019/
- Hedera Blog – New v3 Hbar Economics Whitepaper https://hedera.com/blog/new-v3-of-the-hbar-economics-whitepaper/
- CoinDesk – Hedera coverage https://www.coindesk.com/tag/hedera/
- CryptoTicker – Hedera Testnet Upgrade v0.79 Cancelled https://cryptoticker.io/en/hedera-testnet-upgrade-v0-79-cancelled/

Not financial advice. Nobody can pay for a VaultX review.

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