llms.txt
# Hedera
> Hedera is a public, open-source, proof-of-stake distributed ledger that uses the hashgraph consensus algorithm. It is governed by the Hedera Council, a group of global enterprises and institutions that operate the network's consensus nodes. Hedera provides native services for tokenization, consensus timestamping, and EVM-compatible smart contracts, with fixed USD-denominated fees and finality in seconds. This file maps hedera.com, the network's main site, which covers what Hedera is, who uses it, and what is new. Developer documentation lives separately on docs.hedera.com.
Routing guide for agents:
- **What Hedera is, who runs it, who builds on it, and what is new**: hedera.com (this file).
- **How to build on Hedera**: docs.hedera.com, which publishes its own [llms.txt](https://docs.hedera.com/llms.txt) and a full-text [llms-full.txt](https://docs.hedera.com/llms-full.txt). Prefer those for SDKs, APIs, transaction types, tutorials, and network reference.
- **Improvement proposals and protocol specifications**: the HIP repository on GitHub at https://github.com/hiero-ledger/hiero-improvement-proposals. The rendered site hips.hedera.com is behind a bot challenge and is not machine-readable.
- **Live network status and metrics**: status.hedera.com and hashscan.io.
Every page listed below is also served as clean Markdown by appending `.md` to the path (for example `https://hedera.com/use-cases/payments.md`). The site homepage is available at `https://hedera.com/index.md`. Markdown responses include YAML front matter with `title`, `published_at`, `modified_at`, and the canonical `url`.
## Start here
- [Homepage](https://hedera.com/index.md): Overview of Hedera as an enterprise-grade public network, with current featured news and highlights.
- [Start building](https://hedera.com/start-building.md): Entry point for developers choosing a path onto Hedera, using either native Hedera SDKs or familiar EVM tooling.
- [Frequently asked questions](https://hedera.com/faq.md): Answers on the technology, network governance, the HBAR currency, and how Hedera differs from other networks.
- [Hedera journey](https://hedera.com/journey.md): The founding story and design rationale behind Hedera, from Dr. Leemon Baird and Mance Harmon's original vision for a trust layer.
- [Roadmap](https://hedera.com/roadmap.md): Current status of Hiero Improvement Proposals and planned network and product work, maintained in the open.
- [Services and products](https://hedera.com/services-products.md): Index of Hedera's native network services and the open-source toolkits built on top of them.
- [Use cases](https://hedera.com/use-cases.md): Index of the industries and application patterns Hedera is built to serve.
- [Case studies](https://hedera.com/case-studies.md): Index of organizations running production workloads on Hedera.
## Technical documentation
Hedera's developer documentation is a separate site with its own AI-readable index. Route technical questions there rather than to the pages above.
- [Hedera developer docs](https://docs.hedera.com/hedera): Root of the technical documentation covering SDKs, network services, APIs, and tutorials.
- [Docs llms.txt](https://docs.hedera.com/llms.txt): Structured index of every documentation page, each available as Markdown.
- [Docs llms-full.txt](https://docs.hedera.com/llms-full.txt): Full text of the entire documentation site in a single file.
- [Learn Hedera](https://docs.hedera.com/learn/index.md): Core concepts: accounts, keys, transactions, tokens, consensus, smart contracts, and mirror nodes.
- [What is Hedera?](https://docs.hedera.com/learn/getting-started/what-is-hedera.md): Technical definition of Hedera as a proof-of-stake public ledger built on hashgraph consensus rather than a blockchain.
- [Fee model](https://docs.hedera.com/learn/core-concepts/fee-model.md): How Hedera's base-fee-plus-extras pricing works, as introduced by HIP-1261.
- [Hiero Improvement Proposals (source)](https://github.com/hiero-ledger/hiero-improvement-proposals): Canonical HIP repository in Markdown, where protocol changes and standards are specified and tracked. Use this source: the rendered site at hips.hedera.com is behind a bot challenge and returns 403 to non-browser clients.
- [Hedera Docs MCP server](https://docs.hedera.com/learn/getting-started/mcp-setup.md): Setup guide for querying Hedera documentation directly from an MCP-compatible AI client.
- [Hosted MCP servers](https://hedera.com/mcp-servers.md): Hedera's hosted Model Context Protocol endpoints, which let AI agents read network data and submit transactions.
- [Agent accounts](https://hedera.com/agent-accounts.md): Account patterns and controls for autonomous AI agents transacting on Hedera.
- [Developer tooling](https://hedera.com/developer-tooling.md): SDKs, local node, testing, and deployment tools for building and shipping on Hedera.
- [Hiero open source](https://hedera.com/hiero-open-source.md): Hedera's codebase is contributed to the Linux Foundation Decentralized Trust as Project Hiero.
- [Network status](https://status.hedera.com/): Live operational status and incident history for mainnet, testnet, and related services.
## Network services
- [Hedera Token Service](https://hedera.com/service/token-service.md): Native tokenization at the protocol level, so fungible tokens and NFTs do not require smart contracts.
- [Hedera Consensus Service](https://hedera.com/service/consensus-service.md): Verifiable, immutable timestamps and ordering for any event stream, acting as a decentralized notary.
- [Hedera Smart Contract Service](https://hedera.com/service/smart-contract-service.md): Solidity smart contracts on the EVM, usable with Hardhat, Foundry, MetaMask, and other standard tooling.
## Products and toolkits
- [AI Studio](https://hedera.com/product/ai-studio.md): Toolkit for building AI agents whose actions, inputs, and decisions are verifiable on a public ledger.
- [Asset Tokenization Studio](https://hedera.com/product/asset-tokenization-studio.md): Open-source toolkit to configure, issue, and manage tokenized securities and equities across the full asset lifecycle.
- [Stablecoin Studio](https://hedera.com/product/stablecoin-studio.md): Modular toolkit for issuing and administering compliant stablecoins with fixed fees and real-time settlement.
- [Sustainability Studio (Guardian)](https://hedera.com/product/sustainability-studio.md): Open-source policy-as-code engine for auditable environmental assets such as carbon credits.
- [HashSphere](https://hedera.com/product/hashsphere.md): Permissioned private network built on Hedera technology and operated by Hashgraph for regulated enterprise use.
- [Fee calculator](https://hedera.com/fee-calculator.md): Estimate transaction costs. Hedera fees are set in USD and converted to HBAR at transaction time, avoiding gas auctions.
## Use cases
- [Asset tokenization](https://hedera.com/use-cases/asset-tokenization.md): Converting rights in real-world and digital assets into tokens, at institutional scale.
- [Payments](https://hedera.com/use-cases/payments.md): Always-on, low-cost payment rails with instant settlement and programmable flows.
- [Decentralized finance (DeFi)](https://hedera.com/use-cases/defi.md): EVM-compatible DeFi with high throughput and predictable fees.
- [Artificial intelligence (AI)](https://hedera.com/use-cases/artificial-intelligence.md): A trust layer for AI, giving agents tamper-proof records of their inputs, actions, and outputs.
- [Decentralized identity](https://hedera.com/use-cases/decentralized-identity.md): Verifiable credentials and identity that stay under the holder's control.
- [Sustainability](https://hedera.com/use-cases/sustainability.md): Carbon-negative network used for emissions tracking, carbon markets, and ethical sourcing.
- [Consumer engagement](https://hedera.com/use-cases/consumer-engagement.md): Loyalty and rewards programs that distribute instantly at low cost with transparent accounting.
## HBAR, governance, and network economics
- [Hedera Council](https://hederacouncil.org/): The governing body of global institutions that hold council seats and operate consensus nodes.
- [HBAR](https://hedera.com/hbar): The native cryptocurrency used for fees, staking, and network security. HTML only, no Markdown version is published.
- [Network users](https://hedera.com/users): Organizations and applications using the network. HTML only, no Markdown version is published.
- [Hbar Economics](https://hedera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/hh-hbar-coin-economics-paper-060320-v6.pdf): Paper on HBAR's dual role as fuel and security stake, with the detailed release schedule. PDF.
- [Understanding Decentralization of Hedera](https://hedera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/hh-decentralization-of-consensus.pdf): Paper on how consensus decentralization works under a council governance model. PDF.
- [Fee model (docs)](https://docs.hedera.com/learn/core-concepts/fee-model.md): Authoritative technical reference for how fees are calculated.
- [Bug bounty program](https://hedera.com/bug-bounty.md): Program for reporting and rewarding responsibly disclosed security vulnerabilities.
## News and blog
The blog at https://hedera.com/blog is the primary source for current Hedera news, release notes, protocol changes, policy analysis, and technical deep dives. It holds 580 posts published between March 2018 and August 2026. Post URLs follow the pattern `https://hedera.com/blog/<slug>/`, and every post is available as Markdown at `https://hedera.com/blog/<slug>.md`.
- [Blog index](https://hedera.com/blog.md): Landing page for the blog. Note that it renders only the most recent posts and paginates client-side, so use the post sitemap below to enumerate the full archive.
- [Full post sitemap](https://hedera.com/post-sitemap.xml): Machine-readable list of all 580 blog post URLs with last-modified dates.
Recent and notable posts:
- [Details decide. What digital asset policy did in July 2026](https://hedera.com/blog/details-decide-what-digital-asset-policy-did-in-july-2026.md): Published 2026-08-05.
- [Deploy Multichain Dapps on Hedera in 60 Seconds with scaffold-hbar](https://hedera.com/blog/deploy-multichain-dapps-on-hedera-in-60-seconds-with-scaffold-hbar.md): Published 2026-07-17.
- [Regulation is finding its form in summer 2026](https://hedera.com/blog/regulation-is-finding-its-form-in-summer-2026.md): Published 2026-07-13.
- [Hiero CLI: Practical Workflows for Hedera Developers](https://hedera.com/blog/hiero-cli-practical-workflows-for-hedera-developers.md): Published 2026-07-08.
- [Hedera MCP & Agent Skills](https://hedera.com/blog/hedera-mcp-agent-skills.md): Published 2026-07-07.
- [Archax and Hedera Advance Tokenized Securities with Real-Time Streaming Cash Flows](https://hedera.com/blog/archax-and-hedera-advance-tokenized-securities-with-real-time-streaming-cash-flows.md): Published 2026-06-11.
- [Identity in the agentic era](https://hedera.com/blog/identity-in-the-agentic-era.md): Published 2026-06-09.
- [Hedera Council Welcomes New Strategic and Community Partners](https://hedera.com/blog/hedera-council-welcomes-new-strategic-and-community-partners.md): Published 2026-06-09.
- [Block Streams replace the Record Stream by default starting November 2026: Action required by Mirror Node operators](https://hedera.com/blog/block-streams-replace-the-record-stream-by-default-starting-september-2026-action-required-by-mirror-node-operators.md): Published 2026-06-05.
- [Why MEV-resistance is not optional for institutional blockchain infrastructure](https://hedera.com/blog/why-mev-resistance-is-not-optional-for-institutional-blockchain-infrastructure.md): Published 2026-06-01.
- [Introducing HIP-1313: A High-Volume Lane for Entity Creation](https://hedera.com/blog/introducing-hip-1313-a-high-volume-lane-for-entity-creation.md): Published 2026-05-22.
- [Smart Contract Verification: Sourcify.dev Now Supported](https://hedera.com/blog/smart-contract-verification-sourcify-dev-now-supported.md): Published 2026-05-20.
- [Hedera Agent Kit V4 – Policies, Modular Packages, and Plugin Updates](https://hedera.com/blog/hedera-agent-kit-v4-policies-modular-packages-and-plugin-updates.md): Published 2026-05-18.
- [HIP-1261: A Developer Guide to Simple Fees](https://hedera.com/blog/hip-1261-a-developer-guide-to-simple-fees.md): Published 2026-05-14.
- [Hedera Council Welcomes Accenture to Advance Trusted Infrastructure for Enterprise AI](https://hedera.com/blog/hedera-council-welcomes-accenture-to-advance-trusted-infrastructure-for-enterprise-ai.md): Published 2026-04-30.
- [Introducing Hooks: Programmable customization for Hedera entities](https://hedera.com/blog/introducing-hooks-programmable-customization-for-hedera-entities.md): Published 2026-04-23.
- [Post-Quantum Cryptography and Blockchain: Where the Industry Stands](https://hedera.com/blog/post-quantum-cryptography-and-blockchain.md): Published 2026-04-10.
- [Verified Throughput: Why Production Reality Matters More Than Theoretical Maxima](https://hedera.com/blog/verified-throughput-why-production-reality-matters-more-than-theoretical-maxima.md): Published 2026-03-30.
- [Introducing Hedera Agent Lab](https://hedera.com/blog/introducing-hedera-agent-lab.md): Published 2026-03-26.
## Research papers and whitepapers
Hedera's foundational and peer-reviewed research. These are published as PDFs only; there are no Markdown versions.
- [Hedera: A Public Hashgraph Network & Governing Council](https://hedera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/hh_whitepaper.pdf): The Hedera whitepaper, covering network architecture, services, governance, and economics. PDF.
- [The Swirlds Hashgraph Consensus Algorithm: Fair, Fast, Byzantine Fault Tolerance](https://hedera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/SWIRLDS-TR-2016-01.pdf): The original hashgraph consensus paper by Leemon Baird, establishing asynchronous Byzantine fault tolerance. PDF.
- [Hashgraph Consensus: Detailed Examples](https://hedera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/SWIRLDS-TR-2016-02.pdf): Worked examples of gossip about gossip and virtual voting. PDF.
- [i-TiRE: Incremental Timed-Release Encryption or How to use Timed-Release Encryption on Blockchains?](https://hedera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/2021-800.pdf): Timed-release encryption designed for ledger-based systems. PDF.
- [Amortized Threshold Symmetric-key Encryption](https://hedera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/2021-1176.pdf): Threshold symmetric-key encryption with amortized cost. PDF.
- [Cryptography with Weights: MPC, Encryption and Signatures](https://hedera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/2022-1632.pdf): Weighted cryptographic primitives suited to stake-weighted networks. PDF.
- [hinTS: Threshold Signatures with Silent Setup](https://hedera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/hinTS_Threshold_Signatures_with_Silent_Setup.pdf): Threshold signature scheme requiring no interactive setup. PDF.
- [Threshold Signatures in the Multiverse](https://hedera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/2023-063.pdf): Threshold signatures across multiple independent groups. PDF.
- [SublonK: Sublinear Prover PlonK](https://hedera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/2023-902.pdf): Zero-knowledge proof system with sublinear prover time. PDF.
- [HiSE: Hierarchical (Threshold) Symmetric-key Encryption](https://hedera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/2024-158.pdf): Hierarchical threshold symmetric-key encryption scheme. PDF.
- [Split Prover Zero-Knowledge SNARKs](https://hedera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/2025-373.pdf): SNARK construction that splits proving work across parties. PDF.
- [Tokenization on Hedera](https://hedera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/hh_tokenization-whitepaper_v2_20210101_v2.pdf): How native tokenization works on Hedera and how it compares to contract-based tokens. PDF.
- [Hedera Consensus Service](https://hedera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/hh-consensus-service-whitepaper.pdf): Design and applications of verifiable ordering and timestamping. PDF.
- [Understanding Decentralization of Hedera: Decentralization of Consensus](https://hedera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/hh-decentralization-of-consensus.pdf): How decentralization is measured and achieved under council governance. PDF.
- [Data Privacy Compliance Using Hedera Consensus Service](https://hedera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/HH_Data-Privacy-Compliance-Paper_200613.pdf): Using HCS to meet data protection obligations without storing personal data on-ledger. PDF.
- [Architecting for Privacy and Data Protection on Hedera](https://hedera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/HH_Web-3-Privacy-Architecture_20211111.pdf): Reference architectures for privacy-preserving applications. PDF.
- [The Hashgraph Protocol: Efficient ABFT for High-Throughput Distributed Ledgers](https://hedera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/hh-ieee_coins_paper-200516.pdf): Peer-reviewed IEEE COINS paper on hashgraph's throughput and finality properties. PDF.
- [Hbar Economics: A deep dive into the dual role of hbars & detailed release schedule](https://hedera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/hh-hbar-coin-economics-paper-060320-v6.pdf): HBAR's role as network fuel and staking collateral, with the coin release schedule. PDF.
- [Exploring the Emerging Token Economy](https://hedera.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/HH40027_TokenizationEbook_V3.5.pdf): Ebook on real-world asset tokenization across real estate, commodities, carbon, and funds. PDF.
- [The convergence of blockchain and artificial intelligence](https://hedera.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/HH40027_AI_Ebook_V3.8.pdf): Ebook on infrastructure requirements for AI agents acting as economic actors. PDF.
- [All papers and reports](https://hedera.com/papers): Index page listing every whitepaper, research paper, audit, and report. HTML only.
- [Knowledge Center](https://hedera.com/knowledge-center.md): Curated hub for whitepapers, reports, industry insights, audits, and carbon offset records.
## Security audits and sustainability reports
- [Hedera Blockchain Network – Security Assessment](https://hedera.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Hedera-Blockchain-Network-_-Final-Report_v2_SSC-1.pdf): Third-party security assessment. PDF.
- [Hedera Transaction Tool Code review](https://hedera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/NCC_Group_HederaHashgraph_E017270_Report_2024-11-20_v1.0.pdf): Third-party security assessment. PDF.
- [Hedera Token Service Connector](https://hedera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/HTS-Connector-_-SSC.pdf): Third-party security assessment. PDF.
- [Carbon Offsets for Q1 2026](https://hedera.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/voucher-LSFVLY4B-tpus-1194141-1-Q12026.pdf): Retirement voucher evidencing Hedera's carbon-negative commitment. PDF.
- [Carbon Offsets for Q4 2025](https://hedera.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/voucher-IFQIZIOD-tpus-1194141-Q42025.pdf): Retirement voucher evidencing Hedera's carbon-negative commitment. PDF.
- [Carbon Offsets for Q3 2025](https://hedera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2025-Q3_voucher-Z7DNHPOM-tpus-1185516.pdf): Retirement voucher evidencing Hedera's carbon-negative commitment. PDF.
## Enterprise deployments and case studies
Production deployments on Hedera. Each page is also available as Markdown.
- [abrdn, Lloyds and Archax](https://hedera.com/case-study/abrdn-lloyds-archax.md): Lloyds and Aberdeen leverage Hedera for regulated tokenized asset trades using Archax.
- [Acoer](https://hedera.com/case-study/acoer.md): Better healthcare through better data.
- [Archax](https://hedera.com/case-study/archax.md): Archax brings traditional finance on-chain with Hedera and industry leading financial institutions.
- [ATEC](https://hedera.com/case-study/atec.md): IoT enabling households track, verify, and monetize decarbonization.
- [AUDD](https://hedera.com/case-study/audd.md): Pioneering digital finance in Asia-Pacific with AUDD on Hedera.
- [BitGo](https://hedera.com/case-study/bitgo.md): Giving institutions confidence to store and manage tokens.
- [Blockchain
