Wigwam is the best Harmony blockchain crypto wallet

Harmony blockchain Review 

Harmony is an open and fast blockchain protocol designed to address the limitations of the existing networks through the use of random state sharding and Effective Proof of Stake (EPOS). Rather than positioning itself as an "Ethereum killer," Harmony focuses on enhancing cross-chain capabilities by offering bridging services with Ethereum (ETH), BNB Chain, and Bitcoin (BTC) via Horizon Bridge. 

Harmony origins and vision 

Due to the performance limitations of Bitcoin and Ethereum, many protocols emerged offering different consensus methods like Proof of Stake and Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS). 

However, most of these solutions couldn’t deliver significant performance gains without compromising the security and decentralization aspect of the network. 

For this purpose, Harmony was launched in May 2019 with a vision to evolve as the next-generation blockchain network designed on the principle of sharding and Effective Proof of Stake (EPOS), hence, enabling scalability, security, and energy efficiency at the same time.

Key milestones

In May 2020, Harmony became the first ever blockchain to successfully implement sharding through a mainnet upgrade, that same year, Harmony introduced the Horizon Bridge, enabling users to seamlessly bridge assets from Ethereum to the Harmony network, solidifying its position as a valuable cross-chain platform.

To solidify its position as a cross-chain network Harmony unveiled Swoop in October 2020, a cross-chain decentralized exchange inspired by Uniswap, providing users with decentralized trading and liquidity options.

The launch of Crazy.ONE in 2021 marked another milestone for Harmony, a unique subdomain where users can buy custom NFT domains on the Harmony blockchain. These domains are unique and fungible by design.  

In the same year early in March 2021, Harmony also launched its first Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) for validators to promote decentralization and community participation in its network. 

However, it is worth mentioning that Harmony’s Horizon bridge was hacked in June 2022 which allowed $100 M in tokens to be stolen from its network.

What consensus algorithm does Harmony (ONE) blockchain use

Harmony (ONE) uses an Effective Proof-of-Stake (EPoS) consensus algorithm. This is the first sharding-focus PoS mechanism that prevents stake centralization. In EPoS, validators with a large amount of staked tokens are obligated to run more nodes to support the network while validators with less stake run fewer nodes. Besides, EPoS randomly and evenly distributes the stakes among all shards so no shard is less secure than other shards. 

How EPoS differs from Ethereum

Ethereum's PoS relies on validators stacking ETH, with a randomly chosen validator proposing blocks. However, this can centralize power when a small group accumulates a large stake. 

On the other side, Harmony uses Effective Proof of Stake (EPoS), an upgrade of traditional Proof of Stake (PoS), that encourages validators having larger stakes to maximize the network decentralization through more extensive node engagement. 

How Harmony (ONE) has solved problems with scalability, decentralization, and speed

Harmony (ONE) makes use of the Effective Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism and Sharding technology together to solve the issues related to scalability, decentralization, and speed.

The innovative sharding method splits the chain into three different dimensions viz.- State, Network, and Transaction Sharding, and divides the workload among them which in turn makes the validation process faster and cost-effective.

In addition to Sharding, the Effective Proof-of-Stake motivates the validators with larger stakes to run more nodes on the network, which in turn decentralizes the network.

With these technologies under its belt, Harmony (ONE) has achieved 2000 transactions per second (TPS).

Who are the main players in the Harmony(ONE) nlockchain

In the Harmony (ONE) blockchain, the following two roles come into play:

Validators: Each shard has its own set of validators. Validators secure the network by creating and confirming blocks.

Delegators: Delegators stake ONE with validators to earn a share of future rewards and fees. 

DeFi ecosystem on Harmony 

DeFi on Harmony(ONE) offers reduced gas fees, and interoperability with Ethereum. Its mainnet can run Ethereum applications with a two-second transaction finality at a low gas fee. 

Harmony (ONE)’s DeFi ecosystem is quite diverse including decentralized exchanges like "Defi Kingdom", “ViperSwap", and "MochiSwap" and lending protocols like “Tranquil Finance”, “WePiggy”, and “Hundred Finance”.

NFTs marketplaces on Harmony

NFT marketplaces on Harmony offer lower transaction costs and improved scalability, attracting a broader range of artists and collectors. The interoperability with Ethereum's mainnet maintains the value of NFTs, and the reduced barriers to entry and innovation potential make these marketplaces economically significant. 

Harmony (ONE) has multiple NFT marketplaces like “daVinci”, “Atari (Quidd)”, and “LMA Art Gallery”. These marketplaces feature a wide range of NFTs, serving as a hub for artists and collectors to mint, buy, sell, and trade NFTs. To join NFT marketplaces people use the Wigwam NFT wallet.

Tokenomics and gas usage on Harmony

ONE, Harmony's native token, has several utilities as discussed below: 

1. Transaction Fee: The users transacting in the Harmony network are required to pay the transaction fee in ONE.
2. Staking: The users can stake the ONE tokens, contribute to the network’s security, and get elected as validators. The validators receive block rewards in the form of ONE token as compensation for their contribution.
3. Governance: ONE tokens also serve as the exclusive governance voting token, enabling community-driven decisions. 

Noticeably, a typical transfer on the Harmony network consumes a gas of 0.000001 ONE. 

Conclusion

Harmony is a high-speed and secure blockchain protocol that can process transactions at speed at reduced gas fees, costing only a fraction of what Ethereum does. The network deploys Sharding technology that applies to the entire network architecture, enhancing scalability across the protocol, storage, and transaction processing.