Harmony is an open-source blockchain for building decentralized applications (dApps). It uses a technique called state sharding, which separates a chain into segments that process transactions and store data in parallel, to support fast transactions.
Harmony currently supports a thousand nodes across four shards, which work to produce new blocks every two seconds with finality (no threat of a competing fork). The project has plans to add more shards and support more nodes in the future.
The protocol's Effective Proof-of-Stake (EPoS) staking mechanism allows token owners to delegate their holdings to network validators but aims to reduce the centralization of delegated assets. Harmony has a native token, ONE, that owners can use to stake on the network in exchange for block rewards and pay for transactions.
Harmony features a native token ($ONE) that network participants can use for various forms of payment and participation in the protocol, including staking, transaction fees, voting, and governance.
The Harmony token will function in the following aspects of the protocol:
- The token is used for staking, which is necessary to participate in its Effective Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus and earn block rewards and transaction fees
- The token is used to pay for transaction fees, gas, and storage fees
- The token will eventually be used in voting for on-chain governance of the protocol
