Hello Holidays!

What a defining year it’s been for the Hedera ecosystem.

In 2025, tokenized assets entered regulated financial markets, hybrid networks began reshaping enterprise infrastructure, and verifiable AI highlighted the need for DLT as a trust layer. The inaugural HederaCon underscored this momentum, bringing 600+ participants together to showcase real-world adoption.

The Hedera ecosystem evolved with the rebrands of the HBAR Foundation to Hedera Foundation, and the Governing Council to Hedera Council. New programs like HEAT launched to encourage Council members to build on the network along with a new partnership model to enable greater participation in Hedera Council.

Hiero’s graduation as the first project under the newly expanded Linux Foundation Decentralized Trust umbrella organization also highlighted Hiero's technical, contributor diversity and governance maturity, Hedera's commitment to open-source, and the importance of contributing codebase to an independent, neutral foundation.

Thank you to every community member, customer, partner and builder who made these achievements possible. In this special edition, we revisit the top moments of 2025 and celebrate ecosystem milestones. Unwrap Hedera's biggest moments in this blog.

2025: Tokenization, and building the trust layer

UK-first tokenized collateral trade, on Hedera

In July, Lloyds Banking Group, Aberdeen Investments, and Archax completed the first UK-regulated use of tokenized assets as collateral for institutional FX trading, on Hedera. The milestone demonstrated that tokenized assets on Hedera can operate seamlessly within existing legal and financial frameworks.

Hedera selected for Wyoming's Frontier stable token (FRNT)

In September, Hedera was chosen by the Wyoming Stable Token Commission as a blockchain candidate for the Frontier Stable Token (FRNT), the first state-issued stable token in the U.S. FRNT is designed to modernize public-sector payments, and Hedera’s speed, low fixed fees, and strong governance made it a natural fit.

Hedera takes part in BoE and BIS DLT Innovation Challenge

In October, Hedera was chosen as one of only two Layer 1 networks to participate in the Bank of England (BoE) and Bank of International Settlement (BIS) Innovation Hub’s DLT Innovation Challenge. This initiative explores how distributed ledger technology can support the future of money and payments.

Product highlights

AI Studio launches

Hedera unveiled AI Studio, a modular, open-source toolkit for building transparent, high-performance AI applications and autonomous agents. Developed by Hashgraph Online DAO, Eliza Labs, Hashgraph, and Hedera Foundation, it combines low-code tools, real-time observability, and built-in compliance.

Hello HashSphere

Hashgraph, the software company behind Hedera, launched HashSphere in beta. HashSphere is a private DLT network, powered by Hedera technology, that meets the transaction privacy and data residency needs of highly regulated institutions.

ERC-3643 token standard integrated into Asset Tokenization Studio

In November, Hedera integrated the ERC-3643 token standard, Tokeny’s T-REX framework, into Asset Tokenization Studio. Complementing Hedera’s existing ERC-1400 implementation, this upgrade broadens the network’s standards-based tokenization toolkit for cross-border deployment.

Hedera Council updates

In June, Hedera Council expanded its reach with new members Arrow Electronics and Blockchain for Energy (B4E). In December, Hedera Council also welcomed Repsol as a new member and GBBC as its first Strategic Partner.

Major milestones

January: Hedera leaders took the stage at Davos 2025, hosting sessions on responsible AI, tokenization, and financial inclusion.
January: Hedera introduced the Hedera Developer Playground, a browser-based, open-source tool that makes it easy to start building on the Hedera testnet.
January: Hedera joined the Decentralized AI Society (DAIS) to help shape ethical, decentralized AI standards.
February: Hedera Foundation invested in Archax’s tokenized Fidelity USD MMF, reinforcing institutional on-chain finance.
March: The Hedera Community Builders Program launched, uniting contributors across roles and regions.
April: Chainlink CCIP went live on Hedera, enabling secure cross-chain messaging and token transfers.
May: Hedera Contract Builder debuted as a browser-based tool for deploying Solidity smart contracts.
June: Hedera Policy team took to Capitol Hill, networking with policymakers and hosting a successful 'Sips and Standards' reception, co-hosted with GBBC.
July: EQTY Labs’ Verifiable Compute launched on NVIDIA Blackwell, powered by Hedera Consensus Service.
July: Hello Future Hackathon – Chapter 1: Origins began with a global $550,000 prize pool.
August: Hashgraph partnered with Blockaid to integrate with HashPack and bring real-time threat detection and safer UX to Hedera users.
August: Dfns, KAIO, and Swarm expanded institutional custody and RWA offerings on Hedera.
September: Hiero celebrated one year under Linux Foundation Decentralized Trust, with nearly 800 contributors.
October: Hashport’s HBAR Faucet went live, and Zoniqx powered the first tokenized upstream oil & gas fund on Hedera.
November: Archax facilitated a live, out-of-hours transaction of the tokenized Canary HBR ETF.
November: VictorAI introduced an AI-powered Polymarket bot built for Hedera-based prediction markets.
December: Hedera was awarded “Best Web3 Developer Tools North America 2025” by GFM Review, recognizing the strength of its developer ecosystem.

Hello Hedera DevDay and HederaCon!

The Hedera community is already looking ahead to a big 2026. Hedera DevDay 2026 kicks things off on February 17 in Denver with a hands-on, community-first gathering where developers can learn, connect, and build together. Register today!

The global ecosystem will also reunite at HederaCon 2026 on May 4 in Miami Beach. Timed between the F1 Miami Grand Prix and Consensus 2026, HederaCon will bring builders, enterprises, and policymakers together to explore the future of trust. Register now!

See you in 2026!

Join the Hedera community!