Author: Golem, Odaily Planet Daily
Today, the native token HBAR of the L1 blockchain Hedera broke through 0.38 USDT, reaching a peak of 0.39 USDT, with a 24H increase of over 40% and a rise of over 104% in the past month, bringing the price back to the levels of November 2021.
The Hedera blockchain was launched as early as 2019. On November 13 of this year, crypto investment firm Canary Capital submitted an HBAR ETF application to the US SEC. Compared to the massive attention and discussion generated by ETF applications for SOL, XRP, and LTC, HBAR's popularity has always been lower, and many crypto players who entered the market during this bullish cycle have not even heard of the project.
So, what exactly is the Hedera blockchain? What other reasons are behind the surge in HBAR prices? Odaily Planet Daily will provide a brief introduction and analysis of Hedera in this article.
Introduction to Hedera
Hedera is a decentralized open-source proof-of-stake public blockchain that utilizes a leaderless, asynchronous Byzantine Fault Tolerance (ABFT) Hashgraph consensus algorithm at its core. According to data from its official website, Hedera's blockchain consensus finality takes only 2.9 seconds, with an average transaction cost of $0.0001, while the network has low energy consumption, averaging as low as 0.000003 kWh per transaction, compared to Solana, which requires 170 times more energy.
Developers can utilize the Hedera blockchain for real asset tokenization, building DeFi and NFT ecosystems, creating decentralized identities, and using native consensus timestamps to create low-cost, scalable, and publicly verifiable data logs—recording paid events, supply chain origins, IoT sensor data, and more.
The Hedera blockchain is governed by a board of directors and the Hedera governing council, which consists of up to 39 term-limited and highly diverse leading organizations and enterprises, including well-known companies and institutions such as Google, Dell, and abrdn.
HBAR is the native token of the Hedera blockchain, used for network transaction fees and as a staking token in the POS mechanism. The total supply of HBAR is 50 billion, with a current circulation of over 38.19 billion, and a circulating market cap of $13.28 billion, ranking 19th in cryptocurrency market cap.
Up to this point, the impression of Hedera is just a conventional old L1.
What other reasons are there for the surge in HBAR prices?
As HBAR token prices rise, the market generally attributes the main reason to the favorable news of the HBAR ETF application submitted by Canary Capital on November 13, with HBAR rising over 30% on the day the news was announced.
Generally speaking, price increases triggered by news do not last long. On November 26, Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart also stated that the SEC's resolution regarding the ETFs for SOL, XRP, LTC, and HBAR may extend to the end of 2025.
With the favorable news landing, and the actual ETF approval still far off, we initially thought HBAR prices would drop. However, HBAR prices remain on an upward trend, having returned to the levels of the bull market in November 2021. For this reason, Odaily Planet Daily summarizes the following four reasons:
Emergence of Altcoin ETFs, HBAR is undervalued compared to other tokens
Currently, with the emergence of altcoin ETFs, applications for SOL, XRP, LTC, and HBAR ETFs have been submitted one after another. Meanwhile, according to Nate Geraci, president of ETF Store, at least one issuer is currently trying to submit ETF applications for ADA (Cardano) or AVAX (Avalanche). Although over the past month, HBAR has far outperformed them with a 104% increase compared to the 40%, 32%, and 25% increases of SOL, XRP, and LTC respectively, HBAR's market cap is still relatively low, even ranking behind DOT at 19th place.
In fact, before Canary Capital submitted the HBAR ETF application, in October, Canary Capital had already launched the HBAR Trust in the US, specifically serving qualified individual and institutional investors. Steven McClurg also stated that this move was to pave the way for the future launch of the HBAR ETF.
Therefore, as one of the few altcoins currently supported by institutions and submitting ETF applications, investors may believe that the HBAR token is undervalued and still has significant room for growth.
HBAR board members are expected to become the next SEC chairman of the US.
With Trump set to take office, the next chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is also a significant focus of the crypto market. HBAR board member Brian Brooks is also a potential candidate for the next SEC chairman. According to prediction market Kalshi data, although former SEC commissioner Paul Atkins from the George W. Bush administration has a 70% chance of winning, Brian Brooks still has a 20% chance of winning.
If Brian Brooks is successfully nominated by Trump as the next SEC chairman, it would not only mean that the SEC may become more favorable towards crypto but would also be a significant positive for HBAR, and this expectation is also maintaining the upward trend in HBAR prices.
According to FOX Business reporter Eleanor Terrett, sources reveal that Trump is expected to announce the successor to Gary Gensler as the new SEC chairman as early as tomorrow. This answer is believed to be revealed soon.
Developing with the tailwind of the RWA track
The current RWA track is also gradually reviving, with institutions increasing their investments in RWA. Stablecoin issuer Tether launched its asset tokenization platform Hadron by Tether on November 14, while Visa introduced the Visa Tokenized Asset Platform (VTAP). The Hedera blockchain is also actively developing RWA, and according to official data from Hedera, the value of assets tokenized through the Hedera blockchain has reached $50 million, having provided tokenization services for well-known companies such as Dovu, abrdn, and Shinban Bank.
Steven McClurg, CEO of Canary Capital and former Chief Investment Officer of Valkyrie Funds, also stated that Hedera represents a type of enterprise technology that connects cryptocurrency with the scalability of the real world, and that the application of the technology is expected to grow further.
Korean Market FOMO
In terms of transaction volume, HBAR is also experiencing FOMO from the Korean market. According to CoinGecko data, the largest 24H trading volume on South Korea's largest exchange, Upbit, is XRP, with a trading volume exceeding $5.372 billion; followed by HBAR, with a 24H trading volume exceeding $1.353 billion, three times that of BTC. Meanwhile, compared to Binance, HBAR's 24H trading volume on Binance exceeds $1.289 billion, which is less than Upbit.
Meanwhile, on another South Korean exchange, Bithumb, HBAR's 24H trading volume reached $1.43 billion, surpassing the trading volume of BTC on the platform and even exceeding the 24H trading volume of HBAR on Upbit.
It can be seen that the Korean market is not only the main buyer market for XRP but also a major buyer for HBAR.
The altcoin season is here, and old tokens can also rejuvenate
Trends are always unstoppable. The performance of altcoins has been poor over the past year, first falling into controversies of 'overvaluation and low circulation' with VC coins and massive unlocks, then facing new highs in BTC while the altcoin market remained sluggish, and finally having to confront the impact of meme coins. As a result, even industry veterans like Cobo co-founder and CEO Shen Yu previously asserted that 'there will be no altcoin season in this cycle.'
As a result, sector rotation 'though late, has arrived', and the altcoin season has finally come. According to an analysis by Odaily Planet Daily's Nan Zhi, the funding rate is in a safe zone, and the market share of altcoins is approaching the starting point of early 2021.
The market is accustomed to seeking reasons for price increases, and HBAR may just be a microcosm, representing that perhaps in a real altcoin season, even 'old tokens' can leave market players dizzy. Instead of lamenting, one might as well join the trend.
