Hashgraph ‘could be next gen solution for DLT’

Matt Morris, a consultant to blockchain and cryptocurrency firms, says although it is still early days for hashgraph, the technology could solve the scalability issues surrounding blockchain. “The more transactions that take place, the slower and more expensive using the blockchain becomes,” he explains.

Hashgraph uses a “gossip” protocol whereby every node can spread information on newly-created transactions, and transactions received from others, to randomly chosen neighbours. The information is passed on until all the nodes are aware of the information created or received, enabling a consensus to be reached.

This process is expected to allow for hundreds of thousands of transactions per second – far faster than blockchain. Morris says the process makes hashgraph more comparable to the Visa network, but most likely far cheaper.

The biggest inhibitor to hashgraph’s growth will be blockchain’s proven reliability and familiarity; hashgraph is yet to launch a public ledger version. “Hashgraph on a large scale is still to be proven, but all the signs are that it could be the next generation solution for distributed ledger technology,” Morris comments.