What Is Hex?
TL:DR
The HEX token is an ERC20 token launched on Ethereum. As the blockchain counterpart of the Certificate of Deposit used in traditional financial markets, HEX serves as a store of value.
HEX is also designed to leverage the decentralized finance ecosystem within Ethereum, where DeFi (Decentralized Finance) is being developed.
Hex smart contracts contain consensus code and staking mechanisms, while Ethereuem handles transactional activities (sending and receiving tokens and interacting with the smart contract).
Introduction
On 2 December 2019 at block height 606227, HEX was distributed to Bitcoin holders as a snapshot of the Bitcoin UTXO set. Each bitcoin holder receives 10,000 HEX per BTC. The first year after launch is the only time when Bitcoin holders are eligible to claim HEX. A HEX smart contract can be accessed during this time to exchange ETH for HEX.
In essence, Hex is an Ethereum-based certificate of deposit (CD) based on blockchain technology. Hex holders can stake batches of HEX tokens for a specified amount of time, just as traditional CDs provide a higher interest rate for those who agree to leave a lump-sum deposit untouched for a set period of time. They are forbidden from accessing those tokens during this time, but once the specified time period is completed, Hex holders may receive their rewards.
Certificate of Deposits
A certificate of deposit (CD) is a savings account that holds a fixed amount of money for a period of time. This could last anywhere from six months to five years. Depositors are incentivized to hold their money in this account through interest paid by the issuing bank.
These types of accounts are generally safe investments and pay more interest than a typical savings account. Depositors receive back their original money deposited into this account plus any interest when they cash in their CD.
Hex uses a very similar concept, incentivizing Hex holders to stake by giving issuing them rewards for longer periods of time they stake.
What Is Hex?
In Hex, token holders receive rewards rather than miners or validators operating the network. HEX holders stake their tokens by agreeing not to trade or sell them for a predetermined period.
After the time period is complete, the funds plus interest are received by HEX stakers. As of today, Hex users can choose between 1 and 5,555 days (over 15 years) for the duration of their stake, with longer stakes providing greater rewards “LongerPaysBetter”.
How Does Hex Work?
Staking works by allowing the user to burn HEX tokens in exchange for certain types of shares, known as “T-Shares”. The longer the stake, the more T-Shares you will receive, and more interest will accumulate in HEX each day.
HEX rewards are accumulated in every Share every day at midnight UTC. If you have more Shares, you will receive a greater number of rewards.
Hex’s inflation rate is 3.69% a year. By combining this inflation with the penalties collected by Hex, rewards are paid to users who already staked their tokens for the designated period of time. Those who sell or trade their staked Hex prematurely are penalized.
Proof of Wait (PoWa) vs Proof of Work (PoW)
Bitcoin employs Proof-Of-Work (PoW) while HEX employs Proof-Of-Wait (PoWa). Proof-Of-Wait has really delayed gratification and saving to produce gains. HEX teaches holders how to save, and plan while allowing them to enjoy the ride.
On the other hand, through hardware purchases, Bitcoin miners enrich a few mining hardware manufacturers. In addition, due to the energy usage, Bitcoin miners then enrich electricity companies. In HEX, miners/stakers enrich one another than through the proof of wait concept, they use the time to earn HEX inflation.
Hex vs Bitcoin
According to Hex, they claim that their inflation rate/mechanism is favorable to that of Bitcoin. How so? Hex has an annual capped inflation rate of 3.69% whereas Bitcoin’s amount of coins in circulation increases over time. However, it is capped in the sense that there is a limit it will reach, 21 million coins, after which new coins won’t mint.
In addition, Hex claims to be far more secure than Bitcoin due to two independent audits regarding its security. These audits were conducted by Chainsecurity and Coinfabrik. On the other hand, Bitcoin has never been audited and there have been instances where there were two bugs that could have caused additional Bitcoin to be minted.
Anyone interested in reading the audits can click the following links for Coinfabrik’s economic audit and Coinfabrik Audits.
Hex’s Roadmap
Hex has a long-term goal regarding “price appreciation”. It hopes to do this as soon as possible. Other goals include:
- Replace gold as a store of value
- Eliminate the need for credit card and payment companies
- Replace a centralized financial system with a trustless one that pays interest directly to stakeholders.
Tokenomics
As of May 25th, 2022, Hex has a Total supply of 633,542,658,973 and a circulating supply of 173.41B HEX (~27.37% of the total supply).
Hex has an annual inflation of 3.69%.
How To Buy Hex
You can buy HEX on Binance.
Log In/ Create An Account
If you haven’t done so already you can create an account with Binance. Keep in mind Binance is a KYC platform so you need to provide some form of ID. If you have an account already you can just log in.
Search For HEX
Once logged in click on trade and search for “HEX” in the search box.
Select Amount and Buy
Once you find the token select the amount you want to purchase and select confirm the order.
Final Thoughts
Hex (HEX) is an Ethereum-based token that is marketed as the first blockchain certificate of deposit. HEX holders can stake their tokens for a predetermined set amount of time and earn rewards once that time period has ended.
Through an aggressive marketing campaign and the desire to revolutionize the Certificate of Deposit industry, HEX has become a significant and popular crypto project.
