Harmony serves as a blockchain platform crafted to support decentralized applications (DApps). Its primary goal is to transform DApp functionality by using random state sharding, enabling the creation of blocks within seconds.
As per the project's website, Harmony plans to unveil cross-shard contracts and a cross-chain framework by the end of 2021.
Who Are the Founders of Harmony?
The founder and CEO of Harmony is Stephen Tse. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, focusing on cryptographic protocols and type theory.
During his time in academia, Dr. Tse worked as a research intern at Microsoft. In 2006, he joined Google as a senior engineer and remained there for four years. In 2011, he launched Spotsetter, a successful search engine that Apple eventually acquired. By 2014, Dr. Tse had taken on the role of principal engineer at Apple.
Harmony was established by him in 2017. The initial team behind Harmony consists of twelve individuals, with seven having previously worked at tech giants like Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon.
What Makes Harmony Unique?
Harmony's mainnet is designed to innovate block creation, prioritizing speed and validation efficiency. By implementing sharding, the platform has significantly cut down on node validation times.
To safeguard nodes and secure the validation process, Harmony introduced the Verifiable Random Function (VRF), which ensures shard membership is unbiased and unpredictable. This approach means that nodes and validators are randomly assigned and reassigned.
The Harmony Grants program is a strategic initiative designed to foster creativity and draw developers to the Harmony mainnet.
How Many Harmony (ONE) Coins Are There in Circulation?
The total cap for Harmony (ONE) tokens is 12,600,000,000. As of February 2021, around 9,486,327,268 ONE tokens are circulating in the market.
From the overall ONE token supply, 22.4% were allocated to the initial seed sale, and an additional 12.5% went to a subsequent Launchpad sale. The founding team and developers secured 16.9% of the supply. Approximately 26.4% was reserved for protocol development, while 21.8% was aimed at ecosystem development.
How Is the Harmony Network Secured?
Harmony employs an updated version of the proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus called effective proof-of-stake (EPoS), which supports staking by hundreds of validators simultaneously. This consensus model aligns with the sharding principle used in Harmony's network.
In contrast to proof-of-work (PoW) mechanisms, EPoS offers swifter processing and superior scalability, as it depends on numerous value holders acting as validators rather than requiring significant computational power.
Harmony also seeks to enhance staking incentives to draw more node operators. Through its Open Staking initiative, Harmony encourages network participation and rewards stakeholders holding the highest quantities of ONE tokens.
Where Can You Buy Harmony (ONE)?
You can purchase Harmony (ONE) tokens on several major exchanges, such as:
