Hedera's Momentum: 106 Innovations, 986% Revenue Surge - Interview with VP of Strategy Elaine Song

Despite global economic challenges, the cryptocurrency market defied expectations, experiencing substantial growth with a market cap surpassing $1.4 trillion in 2023, reflecting a remarkable YoY growth of 70.7%.

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Within the Hedera ecosystem, the company witnessed the launch of 106 products, services, and use cases, while The HBAR Foundation reported a impressive 986% YoY increase in Hedera network revenue, reaching $3.5 million, an amount five times greater than all previous years combined.

In a recently released 'Year in Review,' The HBAR Foundation revealed that 95% of its funding was linked to the completion of milestones, receiving 575 funding applications across its four key funds. The foundation committed $16 million in funding across 68 grants in 2023, emphasizing a focus on nurturing existing grants issued in the preceding year.

In this exclusive interview with Elaine Song, VP of Strategy at the HBAR Foundation, we delve into the factors contributing to the explosive growth in 2023, the significance of the 'Year of the Build,' and the foundation's strategic approach to milestone-oriented funding.

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Within the Hedera ecosystem, it was dubbed the 'Year of the Build' with 106 products, services, and use cases going live. What factors contributed to this remarkable development, and how does it shape Hedera's trajectory in the coming years?

2023 was the culmination of a multi-year focus on supporting development on the Hedera network. The prolific launches in 2023 were catalyzed and nurtured in 2022 through the HBAR Foundation’s grant program, accelerators, and growth strategy.

The strategy focused on modularity - the ability for applications and network features to build on top of each other - and interoperability - connectivity between different ecosystems. As a result, 2023 saw an explosion of organic growth that stemmed from a strong foundation of infrastructure building blocks. This infrastructure makes it possible for growth in other industries, like Artificial Intelligence (AI).

In the coming years, we think the explosive growth in 2023 will continue to snowball into mainstream adoption of the Hedera ecosystem. This will cultivate a more interconnected and collaborative ecosystem, enabling seamless value transfer across different applications and chains.

Can you elaborate on the significance of this milestone-oriented approach, and how does it impact the foundation's support for the development of the distributed ledger technology (DLT) ecosystem?

The HBAR Foundation's milestone-oriented funding approach, highlighted in the recent 'Year in Review,' holds significant importance. Tying 95% of funding to milestones ensures a results-driven allocation of resources, promoting accountability and efficiency.

This approach fosters a structured and goal-oriented development process within the distributed ledger technology (DLT) ecosystem. The foundation ensures that funds are directed towards tangible progress, accelerating innovation and sustainability within the DLT space.

Ultimately, this milestone-oriented strategy enhances the foundation's role as a catalyst for impactful advancements in the development and adoption of DLT.

The foundation faced challenges in 2023. Could you share some of the challenges encountered and the valuable learnings gained during the year? How will these experiences inform the foundation's strategies in 2024?

The challenging market conditions forced the Foundation to ruthlessly prioritize key areas of focus - institutional Defi, sustainability, and consumer engagement. As part of this targeted focus, the Foundation and its partners were able to go deep into pilots and proofs of concept for key use cases.

This year also gave us an opportunity to foster community engagement and focus on sustainable growth. This learning of targeted development focus with a look towards a sustainable future will stay as a key tenent for the HBAR Foundation work in 2024.

The HBAR Foundation successfully attracted enterprises to build on Hedera. Can you discuss the strategies that played a pivotal role in this success, and how do you envision enterprise involvement shaping Hedera's future?

The success of the HBAR Foundation in attracting enterprises to build on Hedera can be attributed to several key strategies. Firstly, the Hedera network’s inherent protocol benefits - high throughput, low transaction fees, and environmental sustainability - make it a preferred choice for enterprise applications.

The Foundation’s work in partnering and supporting these enterprises in use case ideation and development has made the Hedera network a developer friendly home for enterprises. This focus strategic partnerships and developer support initiatives have played a crucial role in onboarding enterprises. By fostering a collaborative ecosystem and providing the necessary tools and resources, they have made it easier for businesses to integrate with Hedera.

Looking ahead, enterprise involvement is poised to shape Hedera's future by driving innovation, expanding use cases, and establishing the network as a preferred platform for scalable, secure, and sustainable real world applications. The continued growth of enterprise applications on Hedera is likely to contribute to the platform's long-term success and prominence in the blockchain space.

Looking ahead, what are The HBAR Foundation's primary objectives for 2024 in its four funds: Crypto Economy, Fintech & Payments, Consumer Engagement, and Sustainable Impact?

In 2024, The HBAR Foundation aims to advance key objectives within its four main funds. The Crypto Economy fund is focused on enabling the creation and movement of value, onchain. The Fintech and Payments fund is focused on improving efficient value exchange through tokenization.

These two funds jointly lead a strategy focusing on Onchain Finance in an effort to modernize economic behavior by bringing existing financial business models and infrastructure onchain. The Consumer Engagement Fund is focused on enabling high quality Web3 experiences for brands and consumers.
"It’s primary strategy is to enable an ecosystem-as-a-service, that allows for a plug and play ecosystem of interoperable dapps allowing for brands to acquire, activate, and engage consumers."

Elaine Song, VP of Strategy at the HBAR Foundation
The Sustainable Impact Fund is bringing the balance sheet of the planet onto the public ledger. Their focus on building sustainability and climate markets that are liquid and verifiable is critical to solving the world’s climate crisis.

These focus areas are key to improving our world while also promoting the mainstream adoption of digital ledger technology.

The foundation has continued to emphasize infrastructure, sustainability, payments, DeFi, and tokenization. How do these areas align with the broader goals of The HBAR Foundation, and what impact do you anticipate these focus areas will have on the overall Hedera network?

The HBAR Foundation's emphasis on infrastructure, sustainability, payments, DeFi, and tokenization aligns strategically with broader goals, reflecting a comprehensive approach to the Hedera network's growth and ecosystem development. Focusing on infrastructure ensures a robust foundation for decentralized applications, fostering scalability and efficiency.

Sustainability initiatives underscore a commitment to eco-friendly practices, appealing to environmentally conscious users and stakeholders. Payments, DeFi, and tokenization signify a dedication to financial innovation and inclusivity, expanding use and integration and attracting diverse participants.

Anticipated impacts on the overall Hedera network include heightened scalability and efficiency, broadened utility and accessibility, and increased adoption driven by advancements in financial technologies. The emphasis on sustainability further positions Hedera as a responsible blockchain platform.

Overall, these focus areas contribute to a more resilient, inclusive, and sustainable future for the Hedera network, aligning with the foundation's overarching vision for the global blockchain ecosystem.

What lessons do you think the crypto industry can learn from the approaches of institutional investors and builders, and how can these insights contribute to the industry's maturation?

The crypto industry stands to gain valuable insights from the approaches of institutional investors and builders. The institutional focus on robust infrastructure and scalable solutions showcases the importance of long-term sustainability.

Prioritizing security, scalability, and user experience is integral for widespread adoption. Additionally, institutional use cases tend to come to market with very specific product-market-fit. These use cases have been explored in response to a clearly articulated problem or painpoint.

This institutional emphasis on focusing on a solution is evidence of a maturing product lifecycle within the crypto industry. By adopting these principles, the crypto industry can mature, attracting more institutional interest, fostering responsible innovation, and establishing a solid foundation for long-term growth and acceptance in mainstream financial landscapes.

Looking into the future, what are your predictions for the crypto industry in 2024, considering the trends, challenges, and advancements observed in 2023?

In 2024, we're going to see a transformative landscape in the crypto sphere with institutional capital riding the wave of ETFs. With a surge in institutional investments, particularly from older demographics, an influx of capital propelled by the institutional embrace of cryptocurrencies will be seen.

This shift not only reflects growing confidence in digital assets but also marks a broader acceptance among a once traditionally cautious investor demographic.

For the coming year, there will be a continued expansion of financial institutional use, potentially driven by clearer regulatory frameworks. These developments are expected to unfold predominantly outside of the United States, with Singapore, the UK, and the EU emerging as key hubs for crypto innovation.

As regulatory environments become more defined, financial institutions are poised to explore further and expand their adoption of blockchain solutions which will contribute to a broader institutional integration of crypto and digital assets.
"There will also be an increase in mainstream consumer adoption driven by loyalty programs."

Elaine Song, VP of Strategy at the HBAR Foundation
As decentralized loyalty solutions gain prominence, consumers are anticipated to increasingly engage with blockchain-based platforms, becoming more comfortable with the once-feared technology, fostering a new era of user-friendly and rewarding experiences as the technology seamlessly integrates into our day-to-day lives.

The convergence of institutional capital, regulatory clarity, and consumer-friendly applications is expected to define the crypto landscape in 2024, marking a significant step toward broader adoption and acceptance.

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For more information about the HBAR Foundation, visit their website or follow them on X.