Hashgraph vs Blockchain: What Are The Differences?

The blockchain sector is evolving continuously at a rapid pace. A blockchain is a DLT or distributed ledger technology - a technical infrastructure which enables participants to communicate via the network to reach a consensus. Just like a blockchain, there are other DLTs as well. And some of them even claim to offer more benefits than a blockchain. A Hashgraph is one of them. 

Here is a comparison between these two DLTs - blockchain and Hashgraph. Dive in to learn more about it.

Understanding Blockchain Technology

Blockchain is a peer-to-peer, decentralised DLT that maintains a history of transactional records or data without the involvement of any third-party intermediary.

The key concept in the blockchain is the blocks where records are safely stored, and data cannot be forged or changed in any manner. Blockchain technology stands out because it provides total immutability, transparency, security and privacy.

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What Is A Hashgraph?

Hashgraph is a consensus algorithm which adopts concepts like virtual voting and “gossip about gossip” to achieve secure and faster transactions. It claims to overcome gaps that are left by blockchain. Also, it is a peer-to-peer platform which eliminates the requirement for complete transactional operations.

Hashgraph vs Blockchain:

Here are some of the major differences between blockchain and Hashgraph:

• Faster transactions

Hashgraph utilises the gossip about gossip protocol to offer faster transaction speeds as it needs less information to propagate with a higher number of events taking place. Notably, Hashgraph is capable of processing up to 500,000 transactions every second.

The transaction speed in the blockchain depends on implementing solutions like cryptocurrency or blockchain platforms like Corda, and Ethereum and protocols like Hyperledger and more. But it is slower than Hashgraph and delivers speeds of 100 to 10,000 transactions every second.

• Efficiency

The block approach of a blockchain makes it challenging for miners to work on it. That’s because when two blocks are mining simultaneously, the miners need to decide on a single block. This implies that the other block is discarded, and all efforts are wasted.

Hashgraph does not utilise the block approach and is therefore considered 100% efficient as it does not encounter any such issues. No resources get discarded or wasted as every event which is gossiped about to the network is reserved.

• Patented vs open-source

Since a blockchain is an open-source DLT platform, several individuals contribute to building utility tokens and cryptos. But Hashgraph is based on a patented algorithm that Swirlds own. Hence, new entries must pass via Swirlds.

• Consensus mechanism

Blockchain utilises several consensus algorithms depending upon currencies and cryptography. Some popular algorithms a blockchain uses are Proof-of-Elapsed Time, Proof-of-Stake, Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance, Proof-of-Work, etc.

Hashgraph utilises virtual voting to gain network consensus and does not need other algorithms.  That’s because it can offer high performance at a low cost without failure. Also, it does not require a high electrical supply and computation power.

Closing Thoughts

Undoubtedly, Hashgraph has several benefits like speed, performance, and efficiency and is more advanced in comparison to the blockchain. But again, blockchain has been around for a long time now to prove its potential, and several sectors have also benefitted from its features.

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