Hedera will become an Official Partner of the McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 and the Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team. The partnership will connect real-world racing environments with Web3 infrastructure to deliver new fan engagement experiences and officially licensed digital activations.

With a shared mission of engineering excellence, performance, speed and precision, the partnership unites two leaders of their respective industries who operate at the highest level, on track and in the digital space. Through the collaboration, fans will have access to a new programme of digital experiences designed to bring them closer to the team. Built on Hedera, these activations will benefit from the trust, security, and credibility of the network.

McLaren Racing’s first use case on Hedera will be a digital collectibles programme. Fans should look forward to a series of free-to-claim collectibles, released during F1 Grand Prix weekends. Additionally, the partnership with Hedera will mark the exciting return of Arrow McLaren IndyCar digital collectibles for the 2026 season.

The motorsport-themed digital collectibles will also incorporate unique experiences, prizes and incentives to further connect fans to the world of racing. Building and learning from these digital collectibles programmes with our fans, McLaren Racing and Hedera aim to continually iterate and develop new programmes aimed at bridging the gap between the physical and the digital worlds.

Fans can learn more through McLaren Racing’s Discord server, whether they are Web3-native or new to the scene.

Hedera branding will feature on the McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team car, as well as driver race suits. It will also feature on the No. 6 and No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolets, and Arrow McLaren team kit.

Nick Martin, Co-Chief Commercial Officer, McLaren Racing, said:

“Innovation off the track is just as important as performance on it. Partnering with Hedera allows us to deliver cutting-edge Web3 experiences for our fans. We’re excited to welcome Hedera to the McLaren family as we continue to push boundaries on and off the track.”

Charles Adkins, CEO of HBAR, Inc, said:

“Working with one of the world’s most recognized sports brands is a big step for the Hedera ecosystem. It gives us a chance to show what Web3 can look like when it’s built on a network people can trust, and when it’s tied to experiences fans actually want. This partnership is the first phase of a longer program that we look forward to building together with McLaren Racing.”

The post McLaren Racing and Hedera Partner to Expand Digital Fan Engagement appeared first on Hedera.

HIP-1215 changes this fundamentally. Smart contracts on Hedera can now schedule their own future executions at the protocol level, transforming from passive code into autonomous agents that operate independently over time.

This capability unlocks entirely new business models across industries. This post explores four high-impact categories where protocol-level scheduling creates immediate value: DeFi automation, enterprise finance, DAO governance, and token economics.

The fundamental shift

Before HIP-1215, every automated blockchain application had a hidden dependency – someone or something off-chain had to wake it up. After HIP-1215, contracts manage their own lifecycle. The implications extend far beyond reduced operational costs. When reliability moves from “best effort by bots” to “guaranteed by consensus,” applications can meet enterprise standards while remaining fully decentralized.

DeFi: Self-maintaining protocols

Automated liquidations without keeper networks

The problem: Lending protocols like Aave, Compound, and MakerDAO depend on liquidator bots to maintain protocol health. When collateral values drop, these bots race to liquidate undercollateralized positions – a process plagued by MEV extraction, failed transactions, and centralization around sophisticated operators.

The HIP-1215 solution: DeFi protocols on Hedera can implement self-monitoring vaults that schedule their own health checks. As positions approach liquidation thresholds, contracts schedule increasingly frequent monitoring. When thresholds are crossed, liquidation executes automatically at the protocol level – no external liquidators required.

function checkHealth() external {
    if (isHealthy()) {
        // Schedule next check in 1 hour
        scheduleNextCheck(block.timestamp + 3600);
    } else {
        // Unhealthy: check every minute
        scheduleNextCheck(block.timestamp + 60);

        if (shouldLiquidate()) {
            liquidate();
        }
    }
}

Business impact:

• No keeper dependency: Protocol functions without external liquidator networks
• Fair execution: Eliminates MEV extraction on liquidations
• Predictable costs: Fixed fees instead of competitive bidding
• Operational efficiency: Zero infrastructure to maintain

Example: Bonzo Finance on Hedera can implement automated liquidations where the protocol itself monitors and executes, creating a more fair and efficient lending market.

Automated position rebalancing

The problem: DeFi strategies requiring periodic rebalancing – yield optimization, portfolio management, liquidity provision – depend on either manual intervention or paid automation services.

The HIP-1215 solution: Vaults schedule their own rebalancing operations at optimal intervals.

function rebalance() external {
    // Optimize portfolio allocation
    performRebalancing();

    // Schedule next rebalance in 24 hours
    uint256 nextTime = block.timestamp + 86400;
    scheduleNextRebalance(nextTime);
}

Business impact: Protocols differentiate on algorithm quality rather than operational reliability. Users benefit from consistent optimization without manual triggers or service fees. Complex strategies become accessible to retail users through automated execution.

Enterprise and institutional finance

Tokenized securities: guaranteed coupon payments

The problem: Tokenized bonds require periodic coupon payments to holders. Traditional finance uses transfer agents for this function. Blockchain implementations have struggled to replicate reliable, automated distributions without centralized infrastructure.

The HIP-1215 solution: Bond contracts schedule their own coupon distributions at issuance.

function distributeCoupon() external {
    // Snapshot current holders
    address[] memory holders = getHolders();

    // Calculate and distribute payments
    for (uint i = 0; i < holders.length; i++) {
        uint256 payment = calculateCoupon(holders[i]);
        transferPayment(holders[i], payment);
    }

    // Schedule next quarterly distribution
    scheduleNextCoupon(block.timestamp + 90 days);
}

Business impact:

• Guaranteed execution: No dependency on operations teams or service providers
• Regulatory compliance: Predictable, auditable payment schedules meet institutional standards
• Cost reduction: Eliminates transfer agent fees
• Investor confidence: Automated, trustless distributions build institutional adoption

The institutional advantage: For tokenized securities issuers, this is transformative. A tokenized bond can guarantee payment execution - not vulnerable to service outages, not requiring manual processes, not dependent on third parties. The smart contract becomes the transfer agent, operating autonomously for the life of the security.

This positions Hedera uniquely for institutional capital markets where reliability isn't optional.

Payroll automation for global organizations

The problem: DAOs and distributed organizations struggle with reliable payroll. Options are limited: centralized payroll platforms (introducing trust dependencies) or manual coordination via multi-sig (creating operational overhead and delays).

The HIP-1215 solution: Deploy smart contracts that process payroll automatically - weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly - without manual intervention.

function processPayroll() external {
    require(block.timestamp >= nextPayrollDate, "Not yet due");

    // Process all active payees
    for (uint i = 0; i < contributors.length; i++) {
        transferSalary(contributors[i]);
    }

    // Schedule next payroll run
    nextPayrollDate += payrollInterval;
    scheduleNextPayroll(nextPayrollDate);
}

Business impact:

• Predictable payments: Contributors receive compensation on schedule, building trust
• Reduced overhead: Finance teams freed from repetitive tasks
• Transparent accounting: Complete payment history lives on-chain
• Global reach: Pay contributors anywhere, in any supported token

Use cases: DAO contributor salaries, contractor monthly invoices, streaming payments for continuous work, automatic tax withholding to designated wallets.

DAO governance & treasury automation

Automated proposal execution

The problem: Even after governance proposals pass and timelock periods expire, someone must execute them. This introduces coordination overhead, execution risk, and potential for manipulation or delays.

The HIP-1215 solution: Governance contracts schedule automatic execution when timelocks expire.

function scheduleProposal(uint256 proposalId) internal {
    Proposal memory prop = proposals[proposalId];

    // Schedule execution after timelock
    uint256 executeAt = block.timestamp + timelockPeriod;
    scheduleExecution(proposalId, executeAt);
}

Business impact:

• Trustless execution: No one can prevent or delay approved proposals
• Reduced coordination: Eliminates need for execution transactions
• Transparent governance: All actions happen predictably on schedule
• Complex workflows: Enables multi-step proposals with scheduled phases

Treasury automation

The problem: Recurring treasury operations - monthly grants, quarterly buybacks, weekly reward distributions - require repeated multi-sig coordination, consuming governance bandwidth on routine operations.

The HIP-1215 solution: Pre-approved scheduled treasury actions that execute automatically.

Examples:

• Monthly grant distributions to working groups (10,000 HBAR every 30 days)
• Quarterly token buybacks (execute on first day of quarter)
• Weekly staking reward distributions (every Monday at noon UTC)
• Annual budget reallocations (fiscal year boundaries)

Business impact: DAOs operate more like code-governed organizations than coordination-dependent communities. Governance focuses on policy decisions rather than execution logistics. Contributors gain confidence in predictable funding.

Token vesting and distribution

Automated token unlocks

The problem: Token vesting schedules - common for employee compensation, investor allocations, and community distributions - typically require manual claims. This creates friction, increases support burden, and often results in poor user experience as recipients must monitor unlock dates and execute claims.

The HIP-1215 solution: Vesting contracts schedule automatic token delivery at each cliff date and distribution period. Recipients receive tokens without taking any action.

Implementation flow:

• Company deploys vesting contract with employee allocations
• Contract schedules 1-year cliff unlock automatically
• At cliff, tokens transfer to recipients + contract schedules monthly releases
• Process continues for full vesting period (e.g., 3 years) with zero manual intervention

Business impact:

• Improved experience: Tokens arrive automatically - no claims to forget
• Reduced support: Eliminates "when can I claim?" tickets
• Transparent auditing: All scheduled distributions visible on-chain
• Complex schedules: Supports cliffs, linear release, milestone-based unlocks

Dynamic NFT utilities

The problem: NFT projects with time-gated features typically require centralized servers to manage unlocks, trait reveals, or evolving metadata.

The HIP-1215 solution: NFT contracts schedule their own metadata updates and utility activations.

Use cases:

• Gaming NFTs that evolve through scheduled level-ups
• Membership NFTs with automatic tier upgrades
• Collectibles with scheduled trait mutations

Business impact: Projects deliver dynamic NFT experiences without maintaining backend infrastructure, reducing costs while improving decentralization.

The Hedera advantage

HIP-1215's capabilities emerge from Hedera's unique architecture:

• Protocol-native: Scheduling is consensus-layer infrastructure, not a third-party service. The network itself stores and executes scheduled transactions.
• Predictable costs: Hedera's fixed-fee model enables precise budget planning. Calculate exactly how much HBAR a contract needs - no gas auction uncertainty.
• Enterprise-grade reliability: Real-time finality with no reorganizations means scheduled transactions execute exactly when specified.
• Comparison: On other networks, developers must use Chainlink Automation or build custom keeper infrastructure. On Hedera, automation is built in.

Getting Started

Is HIP-1215 right for your application?

Use HIP-1215 when:

• Your application has time-based logic central to functionality
• Reliability matters more than sub-second precision
• You want to eliminate operational overhead
• Cost predictability is important for your business model
• You value true decentralization over dependency on keeper networks

Next steps:

• Explore reference implementations on GitHub
• Deploy test contracts on Hedera testnet
• Join the developer community for support

HIP-1215 enables a new category of autonomous applications that weren't possible when every contract needed external triggers. As the ecosystem builds on this foundation, we'll see protocols that maintain themselves, securities that pay themselves, and organizations that govern themselves - all operating reliably at the protocol level.

Hello future.

Resources

HIP-1215 documentation: hips.hedera.com/hip/hip-1215

System contract interfaces: github.com/hashgraph/hedera-smart-contracts

Developer documentation: docs.hedera.com

Reference implementations: github.com/kpachhai/hip-1215-simple-contracts-demo

The post Real-world applications of protocol-level smart contract automation on Hedera appeared first on Hedera.

HIP-1249 introduces a fundamental shift in how Hedera throttles smart contract execution, replacing the conservative 15 million gas-per-second limit with a precise operations-per-second model that unlocks significantly more throughput.

This new approach measures and prices each EVM opcode, precompile, and system contract based on actual computational demands — enabling decentralized applications to operate at scale on Hedera without sacrificing Ethereum compatibility or network security.

Below, we explore the technical innovations and ecosystem impact of HIP-1249, and how it empowers Hedera to support high-throughput Web3 applications while maintaining predictable fees and high performance.

Breaking down the bottleneck

Smart contracts on Hedera currently operate under a 15 million gas-per-second throttle, using gas as both a billing mechanism and a performance limiter. Gas values, inherited from Ethereum for compatibility, provide only rough estimates of computational work.

Testing reveals dramatic variance: cryptographic operations process at approximately 35–40 million gas per second, while Merkle database operations such as SLOAD and SSTORE approach nearly a billion gas per second. To protect against worst-case scenarios, the network prioritizes security by enforcing conservative limits.

This security-first approach impacts both cost and throughput. The 80% minimum charge rule bills at least 80% of a transaction’s gas limit regardless of actual usage. Real-world testing demonstrates significant headroom — Uniswap achieved over 150 million gas per second on Hedera, more than ten times the current throttle.

While Ethereum has evolved toward variable block sizes with EIP-1559, Hedera has historically maintained fixed limits to ensure predictable performance. HIP-1249 addresses these constraints while preserving the network’s security guarantees.

HIP-1249’s solution: Operations-based throttling

HIP-1249 separates billing from throttling entirely. Gas continues to serve its original role — determining user fees and preventing runaway execution — while a new operations cost (“ops cost”) system governs actual network throttling.

Each EVM opcode, precompile, and system contract is assigned a precisely measured ops cost based on hardware benchmarking plus safety margins. This decoupling preserves full Ethereum compatibility for gas calculations while allowing Hedera to throttle based on real computational performance rather than estimates designed for a different network.

The implementation introduces several critical changes without requiring any application code modifications:

• Removal of the gas-per-second throttle from both frontend and backend layers
• Introduction of an ops-per-second throttle enforced exclusively at the consensus layer
• Elimination of the 80% minimum charge rule — users pay exactly for gas consumed
• Preservation of per-transaction gas limits to prevent unbounded execution

These changes deliver immediate cost savings and performance improvements while maintaining the predictability and security Hedera is known for.

How it works: Technical implementation

Every operation receives a precise ops cost through extensive hardware benchmarking. Networks execute each opcode, precompile, and system contract thousands of times on representative hardware, measuring real execution time.

Safety margins of 20–50% are added, and the slowest hardware measurements are used to ensure conservative estimates. These ops costs are stored as network configuration in file 0.0.121.

Unlike gas values shared across all EVM chains, ops costs are Hedera-specific and tuned to the network’s infrastructure, enabling dramatic throughput gains.

During execution, the EVM tracks gas and ops separately:

• Gas functions exactly as before for billing and Ethereum compatibility
• Ops units deduct from the consensus throttle bucket based on actual work performed

If the ops bucket empties mid-execution, transactions fail with CONSENSUS_GAS_EXHAUSTED, paying only the intrinsic gas fee. This indicates network congestion rather than faulty contract logic.

For mirror node users, the gasConsumed field will now equal gasUsed. The gasConsumed field remains for backward compatibility, but new integrations should reference gasUsed moving forward.

Transforming the ecosystem: Real-world impact

Decentralized finance (DeFi)

DeFi protocols such as SaucerSwap and Bonzo Finance can process more swaps, liquidations, and yield-farming operations. Eliminating the 80% minimum charge improves capital efficiency, enabling deeper liquidity, tighter spreads, and better user experiences.

Enterprise applications

HIP-1249 enables high-throughput enterprise applications at scale. Supply chain platforms track more product movements, tokenization solutions meet business velocity requirements, and multi-party workflows execute reliably — all without code changes or compatibility tradeoffs.

AI agents and automation

As agentic AI emerges at the intersection of decentralized networks and automation, HIP-1249 enables autonomous agents to perform complex computations, rebalance markets more frequently, and process more oracle data — without being constrained by conservative throttles.

Stakeholder advantages

Developers gain major performance improvements without touching code, along with precise cost control and full Ethereum tooling compatibility.

Users pay exactly for gas used, experience faster transaction completion during peak demand, and benefit from more reliable DeFi execution.

The network achieves better resource utilization, enabling more high-value transactions per second while maintaining security and predictability.

Developer guide: What you need to know

Existing applications require no modifications, but developers should be aware of three important changes:

1. Exact billing: The 80% minimum charge is gone. If a transaction uses 2M gas, you pay for 2M — not 12M.
2. New failure mode: CONSENSUS_GAS_EXHAUSTED indicates temporary network congestion and is inexpensive to retry.
3. Gas limits still matter: Limits protect against runaway execution without penalizing conservative estimates.

Testing and optimization

Developers can begin testing immediately on testnet with no configuration changes. Monitor gas usage for cost analysis and transaction success rates to understand throttle behavior during peak throughput.

Optimization should focus on transaction batching rather than gas reduction. Bundling related operations reduces exposure to throttle exhaustion and improves execution efficiency.

The road ahead

By measuring actual computational work instead of using gas as a proxy, HIP-1249 allows Hedera to scale existing enterprise use cases and unlock new classes of high-throughput decentralized applications.

Developers benefit from immediate performance gains, users see lower fees, and the network better utilizes its resources. HIP-1249 further cements Hedera’s position as the premier network for high-throughput Web3 applications — delivering on its mission to be the trust layer of the digital economy.

Hello Future.

Resources

HIP-1249 Documentation
Hedera v0.69 Release Notes
Testnet Access
Developer Discord

The post HIP-1249: Enhanced smart contracts on Hedera with precise throttling appeared first on Hedera.

Hedera closed out one of its busiest quarters in Q4 2025, building a strong global presence through 12 events across 10 cities worldwide. Across the quarter, Hedera used these moments to share tangible ecosystem progress, highlight real world industry-specific DLT use cases, and reinforce Hedera’s role as the trust layer of the digital economy as it continues to mature heading into 2026.

Spotlight

MERGE Madrid: Madrid, Spain, October 7-9, 2025

At MERGE Madrid, Hedera co-hosted an exclusive Institutional Summit on October 7, 2025, setting the tone ahead of the main conference. Held at the Palacio de Cibeles, the event convened regulators, financial institutions, and Web3 innovators to explore tokenization, institutional DeFi, digital identity, and the future of money. Eric Piscini, CEO at Hashgraph, opened the summit and later joined John Whelan, Managing Director of Crypto and Digital Assets at Banco Santander, for a fireside chat titled “Have We Found the Final Blockchain Infrastructure, or Are We Still Building It?”, examining the trade-offs across public, private, and permissioned models and what comes next.

During the MERGE Madrid Conference, Eric Piscini also joined a panel on “The Future of Custody: From Traditional Assets to Digital, Centralized to Decentralized,” alongside leaders from Crypto Finance Group (Deutsche Börse), BitGo, and Sygnum Bank. The conversation highlighted the balance between institutional custody and the Web3 principle of self-custody, focusing on trust, security, and user empowerment. Andrew Stakiwicz, Head of GTM, New Products at Hashgraph, participated in the panel “What Will Payments Look Like in Ten Years? Trends, Risks, and Opportunities,” with representatives from Checkout.com, Notabene, Société Générale, and Range, sharing that the future of payments is not just about reducing costs, but about redefining efficiency.

“MERGE Madrid showcased the digital asset industry’s accelerating progress and growing institutional interest. The standout for me was the Regulatory Roundtable, which brought together global regulators, banking leaders, and crypto projects to enable the next wave of innovation.” — Andrew Stakiwicz | Head of GTM New Products at Hashgraph

Digital Asset Summit 2025 – London: London, UK, October 13-15, 2025

Hedera participated in Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit London 2025 with a booth presence. The summit was a major institutional crypto event held in October 2025, bringing together leaders from finance, banking, and technology to discuss digital asset trends including tokenization, stablecoins, ETF adoption, and evolving regulation, with a clear focus on institutional adoption rather than hype. Gregg Bell, Chief Business Officer at Hedera Foundation, participated in the panel “Real-World Impact: Driving Utility and Adoption Through Tokenization,” alongside speakers from Ava Labs, Inversion, YZi Labs, and Blockworks. Gregg shared how tokenization can unlock new capital and bring real world assets on chain, pointing to active use cases already live and scaling on Hedera.

Bitkub Summit: Bangkok, Thailand, October 25-26, 2025

The Bitkub Summit is Thailand’s premier annual tech and investment conference, attracting over 52,000 attendees and hosted by Bitkub Capital Group Holdings. The event brings together leaders, innovators, and policymakers to explore blockchain, AI, and digital finance, connecting emerging technology with real world applications shaping Southeast Asia’s digital future. This year, Hedera participated as an exhibitor with a dedicated booth, engaging the community, sharing the latest technology and use case updates, and connecting with builders, enterprises, and partners advancing real world blockchain adoption across the region.

SmartCon: New York City, NY, November 4-5, 2025

Chainlink’s SmartCon, during New York Blockchain Week, brought together leaders across finance, Web3, and government to explore the convergence of traditional finance and the onchain world. Hedera participated in several activities throughout the week, including sponsoring the SmartCon Farewell Mixer, which closed out the two-day event and brought industry leaders together. At the conference, Shyam Nagarajan, Chief Partnership Officer at Hashgraph, joined the session “Onchain Equities and More: Why Tokenization Is Finally Clicking,” contributing to discussions on the growing momentum behind tokenization. Hedera also co-hosted a VIP dinner during New York Blockchain Week with Halborn and Blockdaemon, bringing together industry leaders for focused discussions on tokenization, security, and the evolving role of enterprise-grade infrastructure in the on-chain economy.

Hong Kong Fintech Week, Hong Kong SAR, China, November 6 2025

During Hong Kong Fintech Week, Hedera participated in and sponsored Terminal 3’s Web3 Trust Summit, bringing together over 300 senior executives and 30 industry experts to examine the growing role of trust technologies in the digital asset ecosystem. As part of the summit, Jeffrey Tchui, VP and Head of APAC Ecosystem at Hedera Foundation, joined the panel “Building Trusted Digital Identities in the Web3 Era,” alongside Gary Liu (Co-Founder & CEO, Terminal 3) and Alexandre Kech (CEO, GLEIF), moderated by Brent Sellors (Associate Director, Forensic Services, PwC). The discussion focused on decentralized identity (DID), real-world use cases, privacy, institutional involvement, and the challenges and opportunities around adoption and acceleration. Hedera also participated in a VIP Roundtable Luncheon with the Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Joseph Chan, where Jeffrey shared a brief introduction to Hedera and wrapped up Hedera’s participation at Hong Kong Fintech Week.

Singapore Fintech Festival: Singapore, November 12-14 2025

Hedera returned to Singapore Fintech Festival (SFF) for the third year. Organized by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), GFTN, and Constellar, in collaboration with the Association of Banks in Singapore, SFF attracted over 70,000 attendees from more than 130 countries this year. Hedera’s key highlights at SFF focused on educating audiences about Hedera’s capabilities across digital payments, tokenization, stablecoins, and AI, as well as the integration of ERC-3643 into Asset Tokenization Studio.

Hedera had three on-stage speaking engagements:
Dr. Sabrina Tachdjian, Vice President, Fintech & Payments at Hedera Foundation, delivered a keynote titled “Going Mainstream: Stablecoins Are Rewriting the Corporate Finance Playbook,” exploring how stablecoin payments and issuance powered by Hedera technology are reshaping treasury operations, the interplay with tokenized assets, and the implications for corporate finance.
Isadora Arredondo, Global Policy Director at Hedera, joined the panel “Building Trustworthy Digital Money Infrastructures for a Global Economy,” alongside speakers from the Bank of Japan, Banque de France, and GFTN, discussing how tokenized money, CBDCs, and public blockchains can evolve from pilots into trusted, large-scale financial infrastructure.
Jeffrey Tchui, Vice President and Head of APAC Ecosystem at Hedera Foundation, also took the stage at the Singhacks Award Ceremony, presenting awards to winners of the Agentic AI in Financial Services Hackathon, where over 100 participants co-built with financial institutions to test agentic AI use cases.

Hedera also hosted the “H BAR + LABUBU Reception” on the second day of SFF, featuring exclusive Hedera-branded Labubu raffle giveaways, light bites, and drinks. The reception attracted over 190 participants and created a lively atmosphere with strong engagement, active conversations, and plenty of fun moments for the audience. Beyond the main conference, Hedera also participated in and spoke at four side events throughout the week.

“Singapore Fintech Week is by far one of the highest quality conferences in our space. It brings together policymakers, industry leaders and innovators to discuss the issues shaping the digital and global finance agenda. This year, we were proud to bring members of different backgrounds – engineers, policy, marketing, sales- to showcase the breadth and depth of our expertise and the strengths of our network. We feel uniquely placed to help institutions across APAC and around the world join the next wave of digital market infrastructure without compromising transparent governance.” — Isadora Arredondo | Global Policy Director at Hedera

Hedera Hispana Hub: Buenos Aires, Argentina, November 20 2025

During ETHGlobal Buenos Aires week, Hedera hosted a Hedera Hispana Hub community meetup, bringing together builders, ecosystem participants, and regional ambassadors. The session built on the technical and institutional themes, with a stronger emphasis on community enablement and long-term ecosystem participation. Discussions covered Hedera’s technology stack, from core consensus and EVM compatibility to developer tooling and SDKs, as well as Hedera Studios, including Asset Tokenization, Stablecoin, Sustainability (Guardian), and AI, and how they accelerate development. The conversation also explored hybrid architectures and private networks like HashSphere, designed for regulated environments. The introduction of the Hedera Ambassador Program also outlined how community leaders across LATAM can contribute through education, content creation, events, and developer support.

Blockchain Association Policy Summit: Washington, D.C., December 8-9 2025

Hedera sponsored and participated in the Blockchain Association Policy Summit, a members-only event held in Washington, D.C., bringing together crypto industry leaders, policymakers, and regulators for high-level discussions focused on shaping U.S. digital asset policy. The summit centered on regulatory progress, including developments such as the GENIUS Act, and alignment on a long-term vision for innovation across DeFi, stablecoins, and digital identity. It served as a critical forum for direct engagement between industry and government, supporting efforts to ensure the U.S. remains competitive in the global digital asset economy.

During the summit, Nilmini Rubin, Chief Policy Officer at Hedera, joined Bill Guidera, Assistant Secretary for Industry & Analysis at the U.S. Department of Commerce, for the panel “Crypto, Commerce, and the Global Race for Digital Leadership.” The conversation focused on how innovation policy, trade engagement, and smart regulation are positioning the U.S. as a global hub for digital assets, critical technologies, and secure supply chains.

Speaking Engagements

• Future Blockchain Summit: Dubai, UAE
  Future Blockchain Summit was hosted alongside Fintech Surge, the MENA region’s premier event uniting blockchain, fintech, and digital assets, and serving as a major platform for investors, innovators, regulators, and technology leaders. At the conference, Eric Piscini, CEO at Hashgraph, joined the panel “Tokenizing the Future – From Public Debt to Private Equity,” alongside founders and partners from Further Ventures, Relm Insurance, Tokinvest, and Token Bay Capital.
• Blockchain Summit LATAM: Medellin, Colombia
  Ed Marquez, Head of Developer Relations at Hashgraph, delivered the keynote “Beyond Blockchain: How Hedera Hashgraph Is Powering the Next Generation of Financial Infrastructure.”
• Blockchain Summit LATAM – Dallas, TX, October 9-10, 2025
  Mance Harmon, Chair of Hedera Council, joined leaders from BankSocial, Silicon Valley Bank, zerohash, and Grant Thornton (US) at NABS 2025.

Hackathons

ETHGlobal Buenos Aires

ETHGlobal Buenos Aires was Hedera’s flagship developer engagement in LATAM this quarter, convening hundreds of builders during Devconnect Week to design and ship production-ready applications. Hedera supported teams through mentorship, hands-on education, and multiple bounty tracks, with a strong focus on agentic systems, extensible tooling, and EVM-based applications. As part of the hackathon programming, Ed Marquez, Head of Developer Relations at Hashgraph, delivered a workshop titled “Hedera Workshop: EVM, SDKs, and AI Agents,” providing builders with a practical overview of deploying smart contracts, interacting with Hedera services, and designing agent-driven applications on the network.

Hedera Bounty Winners

• HyperAgent – 1st Place, Best Use of Hedera Agent Kit & Google A2A
• Dark Matter Markets – 2nd Place, Best Use of Hedera Agent Kit & Google A2A
• Price Feed Plugin – Winner, Best Plug-In for Hedera Agent Kit
• Incendia Auction v2 – 1st Place, EVM Innovator Track
• Fluxo – 2nd Place, EVM Innovator Track

Stay in touch with Hedera

As we close out 2025, this moment reflects a year defined by progress, collaboration, and meaningful dialogue across the ecosystem. From advancing real world use cases to engaging leaders shaping the future of finance and technology, we are grateful for what we have achieved together. Thank you to our community, partners, and everyone who joined us along the way–we look forward to continuing the journey ahead.

Explore our upcoming events to see where we’re headed next, and join us on the road. Also be sure to subscribe to our monthly newsletter here.

The post Quarterly Events Highlights | Q4 2025 (October – December) appeared first on Hedera.

With expert mentorship, familiar developer tools, and a vibrant global community, the Ascension hackathon set the stage for hackers to bring their vision to reality and compete for $150,000 in prizes. Builders developed new solutions in the areas of AI & Agents, DeFi & Tokenization, and Sustainability. With the Legacy Builders track, participants also had the opportunity to continue refining and optimizing their existing builds from previous Hedera hackathons.

Here are the results by track. The winning teams took home a total prize pool worth $150,000 USD!

AI & Agents

1st Place: Key Ring – Lynxify

Prize: $10,000

Project Description:

KeyRing empowers Web3 teams to establish transparent governance from day one without slowing down development or breaking the bank. Its token model aligns incentives between projects seeking transparency and key holders who provide accountability services. A Next.js dashboard provides real-time visibility into validation activity, scheduled transactions, and threshold account status.

Project Demo:

Click here for the project demo.

2nd Place: Aslan AI Agent Network – Cappuccino Assassino

Prize: $6,000

Project Description:

Deploy autonomous AI agents powered by x402 streaming payments that collaborate, trade, and execute smart contracts in real time. Built on Hedera with EIP-8004 for enterprise-grade performance.

Project Demo:

Click here for the project demo.

3rd Place: Gathoora – COKK

Prize: $4,000

Project Description:

Gathoora makes knowledge and human expertise more accessible. Each insight becomes a module users can rent and use instantly, while creators get paid for every chat. Instead of generic training data, responses are backed by real experts. With the Debate Arena, ideas are tested, rated, and proven, turning expertise into a living marketplace.

Project Demo:

Click here to watch the project demo video.

DeFi & Tokenization

1st Place: Medq Quest – Medq

Prize: $10,000

Project Description:

Medq Quest gamifies DeFi on Hedera by turning on-chain activity into AI-generated quests with instant, verifiable rewards. Users connect their wallet, complete daily or weekly quests, submit transaction hashes as proof, and automatically receive MEDQ ERC-20 tokens and ERC-721 badge NFTs. XP, leaderboards, and portable reputation deepen engagement, all with a protocol-agnostic design.

Project Demo:

Click here for the project demo.

2nd Place: Deraswap

Prize: $6,000

Project Description:

The DeFi landscape is hindered by fragmented liquidity across multiple DEXs, leading to inefficient routing, higher slippage, and poor execution. Traditional token-based incentives can be unsustainable, diluting value and failing to build lasting user loyalty. Deraswap aims to address these challenges by aggregating liquidity into the most efficient swap routes using EtaSwap’s open-source smart contracts. It pairs that with a gamified reward system designed to align users and protocols, encourage long-term participation, and move past the limitations of classic tokenomics.

Project Demo:

Click here for the project demo.

3rd Place: Prism Finance

Prize: $4,000

Project Description:

Prism Finance lets users earn yield on global currencies, swap forex instantly, and access tokenized assets. Acting as a Global Currency Exchange (CX) and synthetic asset platform, Prism provides zero-slippage forex operations, making USD yield accessible to anyone.

Project Demo:

Click here for the project demo.

Sustainability

1st Place: ChargeFrog

Prize: $10,000

Project Description:

ChargeFrog is a community-led, carbon-negative EV charging network on Hedera. Network users pay with on-chain credits for a transparent charging economy, while investors decide how the network scales. A Guardian-powered digital MRV (dMRV) system automatically mints and retires CarbonFrog NFTs to verify real-time carbon offsets and reduce greenwashing. The Super App unifies the experience, enabling users to interact directly with custom-engineered stations throughout Europe.

Project Demo:

Click here for the project demo.

2nd Place: ParkPulse

Prize: $6,000

Project Description:

ParkPulse is a geospatial intelligence platform that visualizes park greenness, pollution levels, and environmental quality using satellite data and advanced analytics. It enables statewide comparisons, detailed park insights, funding and proposal notifications, and a governance-ready admin dashboard. ParkPulse also functions as an on-chain environmental compliance and transparency protocol by tracking city-level greenness, NDVI, pollution, and park accessibility and storing it directly on the Hedera Consensus Service. Communities can vote on smart-city proposals with secure, decentralized governance, giving cities and residents real-time, verifiable environmental intelligence.

Project Demo:

Click here to watch the project demo video.

3rd Place: VeriCycle – VeriSwagger

Prize: $4,000

Project Description:

VeriCycle is a Web3 financial infrastructure built to upgrade South Africa’s informal recycling economy. It replaces risky cash payments with EcoCoin, an HTS-based token, and uses Hedera Consensus Service (HCS) to create an immutable “Proof of Income” for unbanked waste pickers. This unlocks formal banking for 90,000+ workers and provides verified data to municipalities. VeriCycle aims to turn a daily survival activity into a verifiable asset, driving 450k+ daily transactions and showing that Web3 can reduce inequality while cleaning the planet.

Project Demo:

Click here for the project demo.

Edge & IoT Infrastructure (DePIN)

Winner: AlgoAir – brolab

Prize: $10,000

Project Description:

AlgoAir is an end-to-end IoT air quality monitoring system that rewards users for contributing data. Its core innovation is integrating with the Hedera blockchain, where data is immutably recorded on a public topic. Users are rewarded with AIR tokens for their submissions. A public website visualizes the collected data on a map and in a table, showcasing a complete, decentralized data-gathering and incentive model.

Project Demo:

Click here for the project demo.

Open Track

1st Place: Ontologic

Prize: $10,000

Project Description:

Ontologic turns AI reasoning into a verifiable on-chain artifact. Each reasoning step is executed deterministically, attested through Hedera Consensus Service (HCS), and minted as a Hedera token called a Morpheme, compressing logic, consequence, and meaning into a single hash. This creates transparent, reproducible proofs of why a model or agent made a decision.

Project Demo:

Click here for the project demo.

2nd Place: Dotto

Prize: $6,000

Project Description:

Dotto’s goal is to prevent silent schema, logic, and intent drift. It detects schema drift and lays the foundation for full semantic and logic drift verification across services. Each detected schema drift is converted into a tamper-proof compliance artifact anchored on Hedera, giving every code change verifiable, auditable intent. Dotto turns system evolution into auditable proof.

Project Demo:

Click here for the project demo video.

3rd Place: Golden Needle

Prize: $4,000

Project Description:

The Grenfell disaster exposed how missing, unclear, and unreliable building safety information can cost lives. The UK’s Building Safety Act 2022 and Golden Thread report now require complete, trustworthy records throughout a building’s life, yet most systems today remain fragmented and easy to manipulate. Enter Golden Needle: a unified platform where every safety document, decision, and approval is recorded, verified, and linked to proven identity. Using Hedera for tamper-proof event logging, it helps ensure that critical information cannot be lost or altered, restoring accountability and strengthening public trust in the built environment.

Project Demo:

Click here for the project demo video.

Legacy Builders

1st Place: Torch

Prize: $10,000

Project Description:

Torch is a decentralized, AI-powered prediction system for crypto price discovery. It turns predictions into a real-time probability map of token prices, combining AI agents and human insight. The InfoFi approach transforms raw speculation into actionable insights, helping market observers identify emerging trends early and capitalize on high-quality market signals.

Project Demo:

Click here for the project demo.

2nd Place: Effisend

Prize: $6,000

Project Description:

Prompt and pay with Effisend, a payments and identity platform where users pay with their face. Users can move and spend stablecoins through a single prompt and a quick photo. By combining AI agents with secure HCS10/HCS11 communication, it enables autonomous decisions, real-time routing, and cross-chain transfers. It also features an Agent Hub that selects the right agent for each task, optimizes flow, and delivers instant, identity-verified payments to any crypto card or device. By merging biometrics, agents, and Hedera’s reliability, Effisend seeks to make global crypto payments more accessible for users.

Project Demo:

Click here for the project demo.

3rd Place: DeCenter AI

Prize: $4,000

Project Description:

DeCenter AI is a B2B unified API platform that connects developers and organizations to a decentralized network of premium AI tools. Users generate API keys to access the network and connect directly to 400+ AI models and agents. Powered by a Super Agent (a Hedera AI agent) that intelligently selects the best-performing model for every task, the platform delivers transparent, verifiable, and low-cost AI inference at scale.

Project Demo:

Click here for the project demo.

Problem Statements (Basic & Intermediate) & Side Quest Winners

The Hello Future Ascension Hackathon featured bonus problem statements for each main track, giving builders additional opportunities to tackle specific challenges. Alongside these, side quests encouraged creativity, exploration, and deeper engagement with the Hedera ecosystem. These additions created more opportunities for learning, networking, and competing for smaller prizes.

Winners for the problem statements and side quests will be announced via the Hedera Discord by mid-February.

Ascension’s Closing Celebration on January 12!

Congratulations to all winners and participants! The Hello Future Hackathon Trilogy is a groundbreaking three-part saga powered by Hedera, offering $550,000 in prizes across Origins, Ascension, and Apex: The Finale.

Join us for the closing ceremony of the second hackathon in the trilogy on Monday, January 12th, and celebrate the creativity and achievements of the Hedera builder community!

The post These are the Winners of the Hello Future Ascension Hackathon appeared first on Hedera.

The Python SDK is a follow-up to the JavaScript SDK that enables developers to choose their AI framework: LangChain, Vercel, or MCP to build agents that can interact with Hedera Testnet. With this SDK, developers can build agents with the power to make crypto payments, enabling new types of permissionless and micro-transactions that would be difficult for an AI agent to do without blockchain. Since Python is the go-to language for AI development as it has many libraries and integration built especially for AI and Machine Learning, a Python SDK was the natural next step in the AI Studio set of tools.

The Python SDK also integrates with LangChain v1.0, which unifies LangChain and LangGraph into a single, streamlined SDK. This ensures forward compatibility and a more consistent developer experience for Python developers building AI agents on Hedera. 

Let’s explore what’s new with the launch of this new SDK!

What is the Hedera Agent Kit?

The Hedera Agent Kit is an open-source framework for building AI agents that can interact directly with the Hedera network. It provides a plugins that enable developers to easily bring in sets of Hedera functionality such as  basic account operations for creating accounts and doing transactions, token creation and management (HTS), work with the Consensus service where users can publish immutable records in the form of topics (HCS), and smart contract execution (EVM). Developers can use these tools to give their agents the ability to do everything on the Hedera network, taking advantage of the unique capabilities of Hedera.

Key features of the Python SDK

The Python SDK is built around a plugin architecture that keeps functionality modular and extensible. Each plugin bundles related tools together, making it straightforward to include only what you need or to build custom plugins for your specific use case.

Available Plugins

Core Account Plugin

• Transfer HBAR
• Create, update, and delete accounts
• Approve and delete allowances

Core Token Plugin (HTS)

• Create fungible and non-fungible tokens
• Mint, associate, and dissociate tokens
• Airdrop fungible tokens
• Transfer tokens using allowances

Core Consensus Plugin (HCS)

• Create, update, and delete topics
• Submit messages to topics

Core EVM Plugin

• Create and transfer ERC-20 tokens
• Create and transfer ERC-721 tokens

Core Query Plugins

• Get account info and HBAR balances
• Get token info and balances
• Get topic info
• Get transaction records
• Get exchange rates

AI Provider Flexibility

The SDK works with a range of AI providers, so developers can choose what fits their needs and budget. Ollama runs locally with no API key required. Groq offers a generous free tier. OpenAI and Claude are available for production workloads.

Execution Modes

Two modes are supported. In Autonomous mode, the agent executes transactions directly using the configured operator account. Return Bytes mode (coming soon) will return the raw transaction bytes, allowing users to review, sign, and submit transactions themselves—useful for applications that require additional approval steps or external signing workflows.

What Can You Build?

The Hedera Agent Kit opens up a range of possibilities for AI-powered applications. Here are a few examples of what developers can build:

Treasury and Payment Agents An agent that monitors balances, executes HBAR transfers, and manages token distributions based on predefined rules or natural language instructions.

Token Management Bots Automate the creation, minting, and distribution of fungible or non-fungible tokens. An agent could handle airdrops, manage allowances, or respond to user requests to issue new assets.

On-Chain Messaging Systems Use the Consensus Service plugins to build agents that post updates to topics, log events, or coordinate between systems using Hedera’s tamper-proof message ordering.

Smart Contract Interfaces Deploy ERC-20 or ERC-721 contracts and let an agent handle transfers, queries, and interactions—abstracting away the complexity of direct contract calls.

Monitoring and Reporting Tools Build agents that query account balances, token holdings, and transaction history, then summarize or act on that data in real time.

These are starting points. The plugin architecture means developers can combine tools, add custom logic, and extend the kit to fit more specialized workflows.

Getting started in under a minute

The following walkthrough will have you running a Hedera-powered AI agent in about 60 seconds.

1. Project Setup

Create a directory for your project and navigate into it:

mkdir hello-hedera-agent-kit
cd hello-hedera-agent-kit

# Create and activate a virtual environment:
python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate

# Install the required dependencies:
pip install hedera-agent-kit langchain langchain-openai langgraph python-dotenv

# Install ONE of these AI provider packages
# for OpenAI
pip install langchain langchain-openai

# for Claude
pip install langchain langchain-anthropic

# for Groq
pip install langchain langchain-groq

# for Ollama
pip install langchain-classic langchain-ollama

2. Configure Environment Variables

Create a .env file in your project’s root directory:

touch .env

If you already have a testnet account, you can use it. Otherwise, you can create a new one for free using the following link.

Add the following configuration, adding in the API Key for the LLM provider you will use:

# Required: Hedera credentials
ACCOUNT_ID="0.0.xxxxx"
PRIVATE_KEY="0x..."

# Optional: Add the API key for your chosen AI provider
OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-proj-..."     # For OpenAI
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="sk-ant-..."   # For Claude
GROQ_API_KEY="gsk_..."           # For Groq (free tier)

# Ollama doesn't need an API key (runs locally)

If you don’t have a Hedera testnet account, you can create one for free at portal.hedera.com.

3. Create Your Agent

Create a new file called main.py:

touch main.py

Add the following code to create an Agent with Langchain v1.0:

# main.py
import asyncio
import os
from dotenv import load_dotenv

from hedera_agent_kit.langchain.toolkit import HederaLangchainToolkit
from hedera_agent_kit.plugins import (
    core_account_plugin,
    core_account_query_plugin,
    core_token_plugin,
    core_consensus_plugin,
)
from hedera_agent_kit.shared.configuration import Configuration, Context, AgentMode
from hiero_sdk_python import Client, Network, AccountId, PrivateKey

from langchain.agents import create_agent
from langchain_core.runnables import RunnableConfig
from langchain_openai import ChatOpenAI
from langgraph.checkpoint.memory import MemorySaver

load_dotenv()

async def main():
    # Hedera client setup (Testnet by default)
    account_id = AccountId.from_string(os.getenv("ACCOUNT_ID"))
    private_key = PrivateKey.from_string(os.getenv("PRIVATE_KEY"))

    client = Client(Network(network="testnet"))
    client.set_operator(account_id, private_key)

    # Prepare Hedera toolkit
    hedera_toolkit = HederaLangchainToolkit(
        client=client,
        configuration=Configuration(
            tools=[],  # Empty = load all tools from plugins
            plugins=[
                core_account_plugin,
                core_account_query_plugin,
                core_token_plugin,
                core_consensus_plugin,
            ],
            context=Context(
                mode=AgentMode.AUTONOMOUS,
                account_id=str(account_id),
            ),
        ),
    )

    tools = hedera_toolkit.get_tools()

    llm = ChatOpenAI(
        model="gpt-4o-mini",
        api_key=os.getenv("OPENAI_API_KEY"),
    )

    agent = create_agent(
        model=llm,
        tools=tools,
        checkpointer=MemorySaver(),
        system_prompt="You are a helpful assistant with access to Hedera blockchain tools and plugin tools",
    )

    print("Sending a message to the agent...")
    response = await agent.ainvoke(
        {"messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "what's my balance?"}]},
        config={"configurable": {"thread_id": "1"}},
    )

    final_message_content = response["messages"][-1].content

    print("\n--- Agent Response -")
    print(final_message_content)
    print("--------------------")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    asyncio.run(main())

4. Run Your Agent

From the root directory, run:

python main.py

5. Try Other Prompts

Once your agent is running, experiment with different prompts to explore its capabilities:

response = await agent.ainvoke(
    {"messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "create a new token called 'TestToken' with symbol 'TEST'"}]},
    config={"configurable": {"thread_id": "1"}},
)

response = await agent.ainvoke(
    {"messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "transfer 5 HBAR to account 0.0.1234"}]},
    config={"configurable": {"thread_id": "1"}},
)

response = await agent.ainvoke(
    {"messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "create a new topic for project updates"}]},
    config={"configurable": {"thread_id": "1"}},
)

For additional examples and more advanced chat-like agent implementations, visit the examples directory in the repository.

Get Involved

The Hedera Agent Kit for Python is open source and available now. Here’s how to get started:

• Try it out: Clone the repository at github.com/hashgraph/hedera-agent-kit-py
• Get a testnet account: Sign up for free at portal.hedera.com
• Contribute: Open an issue, submit a pull request, or build your own plugins
• Read the docs:
  • See docs/HEDERAPLUGINS.md for the full plugin catalogue and usage examples
  • See docs/HEDERATOOLS.md for detailed parameter specifications and example prompts for all tools in the Hedera Agent Kit.

Want to add more functionality from Hedera services? Open an issue and let us know what you’d like to see.

Resources

Hedera Agent Kit documentation: docs.hedera.com/hedera/open-source-solutions/ai-studio-on-hedera/hedera-ai-agent-kit

Hedera AI Studio: https://hedera.com/ai-studio 

The post Introducing the Python SDK for the Hedera Agent Kit appeared first on Hedera.

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The post Hedera Highlights: 2025 Wrap-Up appeared first on Hedera.

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The post Hedera Developer Highlights December 2025 appeared first on Hedera.

The post Hedera in 2025: Building the trust layer appeared first on Hedera.

Hedera has never been just a technology story. It’s a trust story. It’s a story about what it means to build an internet-grade public ledger that can support real economies, real communities, and real human needs, without compromising on fairness, security, or sustainability.

2025: A Year of Steady, Meaningful Momentum

This year has been defined less by hype and more by substance. Across the ecosystem, we’ve seen continued maturation in three areas that matter deeply to me:

Real-world utility taking center stage.
The conversation around distributed ledgers is shifting from “what might be possible someday” to “what is working now.” We’ve watched tokenization, enterprise adoption, and practical decentralized services gain traction, driven by teams who are focused on outcomes over optics.

Governance evolving with purpose.
Hedera’s Governing Council model remains one of the most important differentiators in this industry. This year brought additional governance decisions and continued council expansion, which are signals of a network that is serious about resilience, decentralization, and long-term stewardship.

Community scale and sophistication growing.
What inspires me most is not only the growth of the community, but the growth of its discernment. Hedera’s community asks hard questions, pushes for clarity, challenges assumptions, and celebrates progress when it’s real. That is exactly what a healthy decentralized ecosystem should look like.

My Time on the Board, and a Look Toward 2026

I joined the Hedera Board as an Independent Director with a simple mission: to help articulate Hedera’s enterprise value and support the network’s evolution toward a truly human-centered trust layer for the internet.

Serving in this role has been one of the most meaningful chapters of my professional life. I’ve had the privilege of working with extraordinary council peers, leadership teams, and ecosystem builders who take the responsibility of public infrastructure seriously.

I want to share an update in advance: I’ll be stepping off Hedera’s Board in 2026, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to have served.

Transitions are a natural part of strong governance. They bring fresh perspectives and renewed energy, and they ensure stewardship remains larger than any one person. I appreciate the trust you’ve placed in me, and I’ll continue supporting Hedera’s mission and community well beyond any formal role.

I will continue to champion the values that drew me to Hedera in the first place: dignity in digital systems, privacy by design, and infrastructure that serves the many, not the few.

What I Believe Hedera Is Really Building

At its best, Hedera is not “just another network.” Hedera is quietly building the rails for a future where:

• Identity can be proven without being surrendered

• Data can move without being exploited

• Value can be exchanged without gatekeepers

• Trust can be established at scale, without centralized control

Those are not abstract ideals. They are the requirements for a digital society that doesn’t collapse under the weight of surveillance, fraud, exclusion, and misinformation.

The future of public ledgers is not about replacing institutions. It’s about making institutions more honest, more interoperable, and more accountable to people.

An Inspirational Message for 2026

As you step into 2026, I hope you carry two things with you:

First: Stay human-first.
Every line of code, every governance proposal, every product launch—ask yourself who it empowers, who it protects, and who it might accidentally leave behind. Scale without humanity is just another form of extraction.

Second: Build for the long arc.
Decentralized infrastructure doesn’t win in a single cycle. It wins by outlasting short-term noise, by earning trust through reliability, and by being useful in ways that matter to ordinary lives.

If 2025 was about maturation, then 2026 can be about meaningful acceleration: acceleration of utility, interoperability, inclusion, and responsible innovation.

My hope is that Hedera continues to be the place where ambitious technology meets grounded ethics, where decentralization is not theater, but a real commitment to the public good.

Thank you for letting me serve. Thank you for building with courage. And thank you for believing that trust at scale can still be aligned with human dignity. I can’t wait to see what you create next.

With gratitude and conviction,
Monique Jeanne Morrow
Independent Director, Hedera Board (through 2025)

The post An End-of-Year Note to the Hedera Community appeared first on Hedera.