What is Holochain – Developing Dapps Without Blockchain (HOT)

What Exactly is Holochain?

In simple terms, Holochain is an open-source framework designed to provide a new form of decentralized internet. It offers a scalable and energy-efficient alternative to existing distributed ledger technologies powered by blockchain. Furthermore, it provides a comprehensive framework and toolkit for developers to build decentralized applications (DApps) without relying on blockchain technology. On Holochain, these DApps are known as Holochain applications, or hApps.

Holochain applications are versatile, resilient, and scalable. They also boast efficiency thousands of times greater than blockchain since they require no tokens or mining. The primary goal of Holochain is to facilitate human interaction through mutual consent to a shared set of rules. This eliminates the need for any authoritative body to impose or alter these rules. In return, this peer-to-peer interaction ensures that users own and control their data, without intermediaries like major tech corporations collecting, selling, or compromising it.

With data ownership, users gain new levels of agency, allowing them to do more with their data. Imagine truly personal AI designed to serve the user, rather than the corporation that created it. This user-centric approach enables the creation of composable and customizable applications that prioritize individual privacy and autonomy.

While blockchains typically tokenize everything, currencies in Holochain are optional. They also work best when issuance occurs through peer actions, such as ratings, or via double-entry accounting mechanisms.

What is the Difference Between Holochain and Blockchain?

To understand the differences between Holochain and blockchain, it is essential to examine their individual features and underlying architectures.

Blockchain

Blockchain technology was first introduced with Bitcoin. It operates by processing transactions within a network in blocks. Each transaction generates a unique hash, and any alteration in the block changes the hash, indicating a different transaction has occurred. Furthermore, these transactions are broadcast publicly to every node in the network on a ledger, ensuring transparency. Each block also contains information from the preceding block, forming a continuous chain that creates an immutable record of all transactions.

Holochain

On the other hand, Holochain is a newer form of distributed ledger technology that presents a significant challenge to traditional ledger technologies. Nodes in the Holochain distributed ledger independently confirm transactions without requiring global consensus. Each node maintains its own version of the ledger and utilizes the network protocol to determine transaction validity. Once verified, this validity is retroactively shared across the network. Any misconduct results in the offending node being swiftly blacklisted, safeguarding the integrity of the entire ecosystem.

Key Differences Between Holochain and Blockchain

While both Holochain and blockchain share similarities in their decentralized nature, Holochain aims to offer a more dynamic and faster structure. Blockchain focuses on decentralizing transactions to enable direct user interaction without intermediaries. Meanwhile, Holochain distributes these interactions among users in a more efficient manner.

Holochain allows users to conduct unlimited transactions per second through its distributed networks, creating a vast network without transaction limits. In contrast, blockchain networks rely on a single network for transaction initiation and verification. This leads to increased fees and computational burdens as more blocks join the chain.

Furthermore, Holochain nodes operate on their own chains. This provides more computational space and eliminates the need for miners, resulting in minimal transaction fees and the absence of mandatory tokenization. Instead, smart contracts govern the platform and enforce the agreed-upon rules.

Blockchain employs a "data-centric" approach, using consensus algorithms like Proof-of-Work (PoW) or Proof-of-Stake (PoS) for global consensus or majority confirmation. Holochain, however, adopts an "agent-centric" approach using distributed hash tables (DHT) with rrDHT, allowing each node to verify and confirm transactions independently. These individual verifications are then randomly broadcast across the network, enabling peer validation and ensuring the integrity of the data by detecting any modifications or invalid transactions.

Is Holochain Scalable?

Theoretically, Holochain is infinitely scalable as a decentralized application network. Its architecture is specifically designed to promote high scalability and efficiency without the constraints typical of blockchain systems. Each participant maintains their own chain, allowing the network to handle numerous transactions without requiring consensus from all nodes for every transaction.

Furthermore, the total transaction throughput depends on the number of nodes operating within the network. Since each independent node maintains its own ledger, network congestion is avoided during transaction validation. The more nodes that join the ecosystem and earn rewards for hosting dApps, the more transactions can be processed simultaneously. This scalability feature makes Holochain particularly attractive for applications requiring high transaction volumes and low latency.

What is Holo?

Holo serves as the critical link between Holochain and the mainstream Internet. It is a distributed peer-to-peer platform that hosts hApps and bridges them to the Internet, making decentralized applications accessible to ordinary users. Users can become part of Holo's network by sharing unused storage and computing power through the Holo Host application or dedicated HoloPorts hosting devices.

As an incentive for contributing resources to the network, hosts are rewarded with HoloFuel, the project's native, asset-backed, and mutual-credit currency. This incentive mechanism encourages participation and helps build a robust, distributed hosting infrastructure that supports the growth and adoption of Holochain applications.

FAQ

Apa itu Holochain? Apa perbedaan esensialnya dengan teknologi blockchain?

Holochain adalah platform komputasi terdistribusi berbasis agen yang berfokus pada interaksi dan kolaborasi antar agen. Berbeda dengan blockchain yang berpusat pada data, Holochain berpusat pada agen, menawarkan skalabilitas lebih tinggi dan efisiensi energi lebih baik.

Apa kegunaan dan nilai token HOT di Holochain?

Token HOT berfungsi untuk insentif peserta jaringan, mendukung operasi platform, dan memfasilitasi transaksi. Nilainya berasal dari utilitas dalam ekosistem Holochain dan permintaan pasar yang terus meningkat seiring adopsi aplikasi terdesentralisasi.

Bagaimana cara mengembangkan aplikasi terdesentralisasi（Dapps）di Holochain？

Gunakan JavaScript atau Lisp untuk mengembangkan Dapps di Holochain。Holochain menyediakan platform untuk membuat dan menjalankan aplikasi terdesentralisasi。Ikuti dokumentasi resmi Holochain untuk panduan lengkap。

Bagaimana keamanan Holochain? Apa keuntungan dan kerugiannya dibandingkan blockchain?

Holochain menggunakan mekanisme validasi lokal yang lebih efisien daripada blockchain. Keuntungannya adalah skalabilitas tinggi dan verifikasi cepat。Kerugiannya adalah belum matang untuk aplikasi skala besar dan adopsi terbatas dibanding blockchain.

Apa saja kasus penggunaan praktis dan proyek ekosistem Holochain saat ini?

Holochain diterapkan dalam manajemen rantai pasokan dan layanan keuangan terdesentralisasi. Proyek ekosistem utama mencakup HoloFuel yang fokus pada perdagangan energi terdesentralisasi serta berbagai aplikasi P2P yang memanfaatkan arsitektur agent-centric Holochain untuk efisiensi maksimal.

Bagaimana prospek pengembangan Holochain di masa depan? Apakah dapat menjadi alternatif untuk blockchain?

Holochain memiliki potensi besar menjadi alternatif blockchain dengan komputasi terdistribusi efisien dan teknologi hemat energi。Meskipun masih dalam tahap pengembangan，prospeknya sangat menjanjikan untuk aplikasi masa depan。