Original | Odaily Planet Daily (@OdailyChina)
Author: Golem (@web3_golem)
Today, the native token HBAR of L1 blockchain Hedera broke through 0.38 USDT, reaching a high of 0.39 USDT. The 24-hour increase exceeded 40% and the increase exceeded 104% in the past month. The price has returned to the level of November 2021.
Hedera blockchain was launched as early as 2019. On November 13 this year, crypto investment company Canary Capital submitted an application for HBAR ETF to the US SEC. Compared with the large-scale attention and discussion caused by SOL, XRP and LTC ETF applications, HBAR has always been less popular, and many crypto players who entered the circle in this round of bull market 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, utilizing a leaderless, asynchronous Byzantine Fault Tolerance (ABFT) Hashgraph consensus algorithm at its core. According to its official website, Hedera blockchain's consensus finality requires only 2.9 seconds, with an average cost of $0.0001 per transaction, while the network has low energy consumption, with an average energy consumption of only 0.000003 kWh per transaction, in contrast, Solana requires 170 times that energy.
Developers can leverage the Hedera blockchain for real asset tokenization, building DeFi and NFT ecosystems, creating decentralized identities, and utilizing 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 managed by a board and the Hedera governing council, which consists of up to 39 term-limited and highly diversified 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 fees and as a staking token in the POS mechanism. The total supply of HBAR is 50 billion, with a current circulating supply of over 38.19 billion, and a circulating market cap of $13.28 billion, currently ranking 19th in the cryptocurrency market.
As we reach the end of this introduction, Hedera gives the impression of being just another conventional old L1.
What other reasons are there for the surge in HBAR price?
As the price of HBAR tokens rises, 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 of the announcement.
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 resolutions regarding SOL, XRP, LTC, and HBAR ETFs may extend until the end of 2025.
With favorable news landing, and the actual ETF approval still far off, we initially thought HBAR prices would retreat. However, HBAR prices remain on an upward trend, having returned to the levels of the bull market in November 2021. Therefore, Odaily Planet Daily summarizes the following four reasons:
Emergence of altcoin ETFs, HBAR is undervalued compared to other tokens
Currently, as altcoin ETFs emerge, applications for SOL, XRP, LTC, and HBAR ETFs have been submitted one after another. Meanwhile, according to ETF Store president Nate Geraci, at least one issuer is trying to apply for ETFs for ADA (Cardano) or AVAX (Avalanche). Although in the past month, HBAR tokens have far exceeded the increases of 40%, 32%, and 25% for SOL, XRP, and LTC respectively, with a 104% increase, HBAR's market cap remains relatively low, even ranking behind DOT at 19th place.
Before Canary Capital submitted the HBAR ETF application, in October, Canary Capital had launched the HBAR Trust in the United States, specifically serving qualified individual and institutional investors. Steven McClurg, CEO of Canary Capital and former CIO of Valkyrie Funds, also stated that this move is to pave the way for the future launch of the HBAR ETF.
Therefore, as one of the few altcoins currently supported by institutions and that has submitted ETF applications, investors may believe that HBAR tokens are undervalued and still have significant growth potential.
HBAR board members are expected to become the next SEC chairman
As Trump is about to take office, the next chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is also of great interest to the crypto market, and HBAR board member Brian Brooks is one of the potential candidates 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.
If Brian Brooks is successfully nominated by Trump as the next Chairman of the SEC, it would not only mean that the SEC might become more crypto-friendly, but it would also be a significant boon for HBAR, and this expectation is maintaining the upward trend in HBAR prices.
According to FOX Business reporter Eleanor Terrett, sources indicate that Trump will announce the candidate to succeed Gary Gensler as the new SEC chairman as early as tomorrow. This answer is expected to be revealed soon.
Developing with the tailwind of the RWA track
The current RWA track is also gradually revitalizing, with institutions increasing their investments in RWA. The stablecoin issuer Tether launched the asset tokenization platform Hadron by Tether on November 14. Visa also launched the Visa Tokenized Asset Platform (VTAP). The Hedera blockchain is actively developing RWA, according to Hedera's official data, the value of assets tokenized through the Hedera blockchain has reached $50 million, providing tokenization services for well-known companies such as Dovu, abrdn, and Shinhan Bank.
Steven McClurg, CEO of Canary Capital and former Chief Investment Officer of Valkyrie Funds, also stated that Hedera embodies the type of enterprise technology that connects cryptocurrency with real-world scalability, and expects the application of technology to grow further.
FOMO in the South Korean market
In terms of trading volume, HBAR is also experiencing FOMO from the South Korean market. According to CoinGecko data, on South Korea's largest exchange Upbit, XRP has the highest 24-hour trading volume, exceeding $5.372 billion; HBAR follows with a trading volume exceeding $1.353 billion, three times that of BTC’s trading volume. Meanwhile, compared to Binance, HBAR's 24-hour trading volume on Binance exceeds $1.289 billion, which is less than Upbit.
Meanwhile, on another South Korean exchange Bithumb, HBAR's 24-hour trading volume reached $1.43 billion, surpassing the trading volume of BTC on this platform and even higher than HBAR's 24-hour trading volume on Upbit.
It is evident that the South Korean market is not only a major buying market for XRP but also a primary buyer of HBAR.
The arrival of the altcoin season brings new vitality to old tokens
Trends are always unstoppable. In the past year, altcoins have performed poorly, first caught in the controversy of VC coins 'overvaluation and low circulation' and massive unlocking, then facing the phenomenon of BTC continuously reaching new highs while the altcoin market remained sluggish, and finally confronting the impact of meme coins running rampant. Even veteran figures in the crypto industry, such as Cobo co-founder and CEO Shen Yu, previously asserted that 'there will be no altcoin season in this cycle.'
As a result, although the rotation of sectors is 'late but arriving', the altcoin season has ultimately come. According to analysis from 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 2021.
The market is accustomed to looking for reasons for price increases; HBAR may just be a microcosm, representing that perhaps in a real altcoin season, even 'old tokens' can make market players dizzy with their rises. Instead of lamenting, it might be better to join the trend.
