Hedera Foundation

What Hedera Foundation does

Hedera Foundation is a Cayman Islands-domiciled non-profit foundation (Hedera Foundation SEZC, headquartered at 190 Elgin Ave., George Town) that supports adoption of the Hedera distributed ledger network. Founded in 2014 and rebranded from HBAR Foundation to Hedera Foundation effective January 1, 2025 under new CEO Charles Adkins, the foundation provides grants, technical assistance, mentoring, and community engagement to Web3 builders, developers, and enterprises developing on the Hedera network across six focus areas: Crypto Economy, Metaverse, Sustainability, Fintech, Privacy, and Female Founders.

The foundation's product surface centers on the underlying Hedera hashgraph network — a public distributed ledger using proprietary hashgraph consensus with native HBAR cryptocurrency for transaction fees — and an expanding suite of open-source tools including Asset Tokenization Studio (RWA deployment), Hedera Guardian (carbon credit MRV and sustainability, integrated with the UNDP-initiated DPG National Carbon Registry via Xeptagon), Stablecoin Studio, and the upcoming On-Chain Grant Management Platform. Strategic integrations in 2025 added WBTC via BitGo/BiT Global/LayerZero, YieldFX FLEX (decentralized FX), and tokenized Fidelity International USD Money Market Fund via Archax.

As a non-profit, Hedera Foundation does not generate revenue in the traditional sense; it operates as an ecosystem accelerator deploying capital via grant funding programs, complemented by technical and business development support, partnerships with institutions like the ERC3643 Association, Nairobi Securities Exchange, and McLaren Racing, and a global team of 11-50 spanning engineering, marketing, business development, and finance. Its GTM is primarily community-led through developer relations, content marketing, and ecosystem events, augmented by high-profile event-driven initiatives such as the multi-year McLaren F1/IndyCar partnership.

Name

Hedera Foundation

Legal name

Hedera Foundation SEZC

Website

https://hedera.foundation

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Hedera Foundation is a Cayman Islands non-profit foundation that provides grants, technical assistance, mentoring, and community support to Web3 builders, developers, and enterprises developing on the Hedera hashgraph distributed ledger network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Blockchain Foundation and Web3 Ecosystem Development

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

Grants, Funding & Budget Allocation Platforms (FSAPAHAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB), Environmental & Climate Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAM), Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK)

Keywords

• Blockchain ecosystem grants
• Web3 developer funding
• Distributed ledger support
• Defi ecosystem programs
• Hashgraph network adoption

Headquarters

HQ city

George Town

HQ country

Cayman Islands

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding Program: Hedera Foundation operates funding programs that support DeFi and enterprise projects driving Hedera network adoption while delivering positive social and global impact. The foundation provides financial support along with expert assistance in technology, marketing, and business development.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Hedera Foundation is a non-profit foundation that drives adoption of the Hedera network by providing grants, funding programs, technical assistance, marketing support, business development resources, and community engagement to Web3 builders, developers, and enterprises. The foundation supports projects across DeFi, real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, AI integration, sustainability, digital identity, and enterprise blockchain verticals through a proposal-based funding process.

Product overview

Hedera Foundation (formerly HBAR Foundation, rebranded January 2025) provides the community, capital, and commerce to drive adoption of Hedera — the world's leading public network powered by hashgraph consensus. The ecosystem centers on the Hedera Network with its native HBAR cryptocurrency, offering unmatched security, lightning-fast transactions, ultra-low costs, and predictable fees. Built on this foundation, the suite of open-source tools includes Asset Tokenization Studio for creating auditable financial instruments, Hedera Guardian for sustainability and carbon tracking, and Stablecoin Studio for stablecoin creation. FLEX provides decentralized foreign exchange capabilities. The funding program supports DeFi and enterprise projects with financial, technical, marketing, and business development assistance. Key strategic focus areas include RWA tokenization, DeFi, AI, and sustainability.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hedera Foundation Funding Program Comprehensive funding program supporting DeFi and enterprise projects that drive Hedera network adoption while delivering positive social and global impact. Offers financial support plus expert assistance in technology, marketing, and business development through a proposal submission process for builders and developers.
• On-Chain Grant Management Platform Transparent on-chain grant management platform empowering the Hedera community to participate directly in the funding process, aligning project support with community needs and values through transparent and decentralized grant administration.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, minor and core.

• McLaren RacingflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 January 2026Multi-year partnership making Hedera an Official Partner of both the McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team and the Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team. Collaboration delivers Web3 fan engagement experiences including free-to-claim digital collectibles during F1 Grand Prix weekends and IndyCar collectibles for 2026 season. Hedera branding appears on McLaren F1 cars, driver suits, and IndyCar vehicles. SPORTFIVE brokered the deal.
• SPORTFIVEminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 23 January 2026Global sports marketing agency that brokered the McLaren Racing partnership deal and continues to advise on partnership strategy and execution.
• BitGo, BiT Global, and LayerZerocoreTechnology or Integration · 13 November 2025Collaboration to launch WBTC (wrapped Bitcoin) on the Hedera network. Integration allows Bitcoin holders to participate in Hedera's DeFi ecosystem, providing secure, transparent, and institutional-grade liquidity options.
• Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 November 2025NSE Innovation Lab launched in Kenya with Hedera Foundation and Hashgraph as first strategic technology partners. Initiative aims to drive digital transformation, innovation, and financial inclusion in Africa's capital markets, supporting NSE's 2025-2029 strategy.
• YieldFXminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 October 2025YieldFX announced launch of FLEX, a decentralized foreign currency exchange on Hedera Network. Platform democratizes access to global currency yields and FX trading for retail investors and SMBs using hybrid market-making and YFX governance token.
• ERC3643 AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 March 2025HBAR Foundation joined the ERC3643 Association to help scale adoption of ERC-3643, the leading industry standard for compliant real-world asset tokenization with $32 billion in tokenized assets. The T-REX standard enables permissioned tokens with identity management for regulatory compliance.
• XeptagoncoreTechnology or Integration · 14 March 2025Partnership to integrate the UNDP-initiated DPG (Digital Public Goods) National Carbon Registry with Hedera Guardian. Xeptagon integrates the registry enabling countries to leverage the largest digitalized open-source methodology library for auditable carbon credit issuances.
• ArchaxcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 February 2025HBAR Foundation invested in Archax's tokens representing Fidelity International's USD Money Market Fund shares on Hedera. Archax is the first FCA-regulated digital asset exchange, broker, and custodian. Investment supports institutional tokenization and enables tokenized securities as Proof-of-Reserves for stablecoin treasury verification.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Ethereum Foundation: The Ethereum Foundation is the largest and most established blockchain ecosystem foundation, stewarding grants, research, and developer support for the Ethereum network. It is the benchmark ecosystem foundation against which Hedera Foundation competes for builder mindshare and developer ecosystem leadership.
• Web3 Foundation: The Web3 Foundation stewards the Polkadot ecosystem, funding research and development for cross-chain interoperability. It is comparable as a broader ecosystem foundation with a similar grant-based model for funding public network development.

Direct peers

• Stellar Development Foundation: The Stellar Development Foundation supports the Stellar blockchain ecosystem, particularly focused on tokenization, payments, and financial inclusion use cases that overlap directly with Hedera Foundation's RWA tokenization and emerging-market (e.g., NSE Kenya) focus areas.
• Aptos Foundation: The Aptos Foundation funds ecosystem development on the Aptos network, a competing L1 focused on safety, scalability, and enterprise use cases. It is comparable as a peer foundation targeting similar Web3 builder and developer audiences — Adkins also previously worked at Aptos.
• Avalanche Foundation: The Avalanche Foundation provides grants and ecosystem support for builders on the Avalanche network, a competing high-performance L1. It is comparable as a peer ecosystem foundation competing for the same RWA tokenization and enterprise builder segments.
• Algorand Foundation: The Algorand Foundation funds ecosystem development on the Algorand network, a competing enterprise-grade L1 with a similar positioning around sustainability, low fees, and institutional use cases. It is comparable as a peer foundation with overlapping institutional and developer mandates.
• Polygon Labs Foundation: Polygon Labs operates ecosystem programs, grants, and developer tooling for the Polygon L2 ecosystem. It is a relevant peer as a high-profile Web3 foundation targeting enterprise and tokenization use cases — notably, CEO Charles Adkins previously worked at Polygon Labs, indicating prior operational overlap.
• Solana Foundation: The Solana Foundation funds ecosystem development, grants, and developer programs for the Solana network, a competing high-throughput public L1. It is the closest direct peer given similar focus on performance, low-cost transactions, and ecosystem grants to attract Web3 builders.
• Hashgraph Association: The Hashgraph Association is a Swiss non-profit that funds non-US enterprise DLT deployment on Hedera, operating as a sibling ecosystem foundation with overlapping mandate and target builder audience. It is the most structurally comparable entity, though geographically focused outside the US.

Emerging players

• Gnosis Foundation: The Gnosis Foundation supports Gnosis Chain ecosystem development, with focus on prediction markets, DAOs, and decentralized infrastructure. It is comparable as a Web3 ecosystem foundation focused on builder support, though operating at smaller scale than tier-1 foundation peers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/HederaFndn
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hederafndn

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments3 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hedera Foundation