Hashgraph
Hashgraph is a data structure, which is an alternative to the Blockchain. It avoids the energy-intensive proof of work mechanism and the limited scalability of the proof of stake mechanism by using a different consensus. Therefore, platforms is based on an entirely new data structure, the so called Hashgraph. It offers various possibilities for different applications, such as cryptocurrency, smart contracts and secure data management or storage.
A Hashgraph network is based on the Directed Acyclic Graph technology [1]. Furthermore, Hashgraph uses a voting algorithm combined with a gossip protocol to achieve consensus. The consensus mechanism allows a faster replication of the information than Blockchain [2]. Users can conduct new transactions at any time by creating an "event". This event is sent to a randomly selected user, resulting in an exponential distribution [2].
An event stores, in addition to the time and information about the transaction, the hash of the previous event of the event-receiving user and the event-sending user for each participant. This creates a connection that ensures that no manipulation of the information is possible [2].
[1] Gräbe, F. (2020): Do Not Be Fooled: Toward a Holistic Comparison of Distributed Ledger Technology Designs.
[2] El Ioini, N. (2018): A Review of Distributed Ledger Technologies.
