summary: Holo is a Cryptocurrency that powers the Holochain.
content: Holo is a Cryptocurrency that powers the Holochain. Holochain provides a peer-to-peer (P2P) platform for developers to build decentralized applications (DApps) that aims to change the paradigm of data-centric blockchain to an agent-centric system. Holo acts as a bridge between the distributed Holochain apps and the current centralized web. Holo brings access to distributed applications to the familiar web browser by creating an ecosystem and currency that enable distributed hosting services provided by peers. Holo provides normal, everyday web users access to Decentralized applications (DApp) without needing to install additional software. This new form of hosting blends small consumer-grade devices with other hosting assets to provide an efficient, dynamic, and inclusive hosting ecosystem. Founders of Holo Arthur Brock (Co-Founder) Holo comes from the word hologram or holographic. Holo was founded by Arthur Brock and Eric Harris-Braun, both of whom are experienced, contract coders. The two first started working on the project in December 2016 as a part of the MetaCurrency Project, a developer of tools ànd technology designed to power a future Peer Peer (P2P) economy. Holo was partially modeled after Ceptr, a cooperative Peer to Peer (P2P) framework for DApps that the two had previously worked on. Brock has prior experience coding alternative currency systems as the founder of Geek Gene, a company that developed community-building tools, including more than 100 alternative currency solutions. He also co-founded social-enterprise incubator Emerging Leader Labs and founded open-source education "starter kit" Agile Learning Centers. In March 2019, Brock was named a fellow of the New Zealand-based Edmond Hillary Fellowship. Harris-Braun started programming full-time in 1988 and is the founder of Glass Bead Software, a developer of peer-to-peer communication software, as well as co-founder of Emerging Leader Labs alongside Brock. In 2003, he co-founded Hàrris-Braun Enterprises, freelance software development and consulting firm. He has also served on the advisory board of the Schumacher Center For New Economics. Team Members: As an open-source project, Holochain is built by the collaborative work of many people in ways both large and small. However, in its current nascent phase, most of the support comes from Holo, a company building out the first large-scale use of Holochain: a network for distributed hosting of Holochain applications. | Name | Position | | ---- | -------- | | Arthur Brock | Chief Architect | | David Meister | Developer | | Celestial Hanley | UX/UI | | David Braden | Developer | | Eric Harris-Braun | Executive Engineer | | Mamading Ceesay | DevOps | | Michael Dougherty | Developer | | Nicolas Luck | Developer | | Paul D'Aoust | Technical Community Mentor | | Philip Beadle | Apps & Developer Tools | | Stefan Junker | Developer | | Tom (freezing) | Developer | About Holo Holo How Holo Works Holo is a Peer-to-peer distributed platform for hosting Decentralized applications (DApp) built using Holochain, a framework for developing DApps that does not require the use of Blockchain technology. The goal of Holo is to serve as a bridge between the broader internet and apps built using Holochain, offering an ecosystem and marketplace in which DApps are easily accessible, as they are hosted on the internet by Holo network participants. The Holo network will be facilitated using a token called HoloFuel, which is actively being tested and will act as an accounting system to pay costs for their services. In 2018, the project minted an ERC20 token, HOT, also known as HoloToken as an "IOU" that will be redeemable for HoloFuel upon launch. It acts as a bridge between the distributed Holochain apps and the current centralized web. Holo brings access to distributed applications to the familiar web browser by creating an ecosystem and currency that enable distributed hosting services provided by peers. Holo does to web hosting what Airbnb did to hotels, anyone can become a host by turning their computer into a source of revenue, getting paid in HoloFuel for hosting distributed applications. The Holo software runs in the background, allocating spare storage and processing power to serve hApps to the legacy web. Hosts choose what hApps to serve, set their own hosting prices, and manage their own priorities. As its flagship application built on Holochain, Holo’s purpose is to make hApps easily accessible to mainstream Internet users. These users might not be ready to install and experiment with next-gen Crypto software like Holochain, as most are not overly familiar with distributed web applications. However, by typing or clicking on a URL in a web browser, which IS familiar, users will be able to access hApps in the way in which they are already accustomed. Holo runs on Holochain—a next-generation framework that is massively scalable, exponentially faster, far more energy efficient, and 10,000x cheaper than Blockchain . Holochain Three Main Sub-System Holo is a bridge to link our advanced Crypto technology, Holochain, and everyday users. Holochain is a validating distributed hash table (DHT) where every node enforces validation rules on data against the signed chains where the data originated. In other words, a holochain functions very much like a Blockchain without bottlenecks when it comes to enforcing validation rules, but is designed to be fully distributed through sharding so each node only needs to hold a portion of the data instead of a full copy of a global ledger. This makes it feasible to run Blockchain-like applications on devices as lightweight as mobile phones. Holochain apps are versatile, resilient, scalable, and thousands of times more efficient than Blockchain (no token or mining required). The purpose of Holochain is to enable humans to interact with each other by mutual consent to a shared set of rules, without relying on any authority to dictate or unilaterally change those rules. Peer-to-peer interaction means users own and control their data, with no intermediary (e.g., Google, Facebook, Uber) collecting, selling, or losing it. Data ownership also enables new frontiers of user agency, letting them do more with their data (imagine truly personal A.I., whose purpose is to serve them, rather than the corporation that created it). With the user at the center, composable and customizable applications become possible. Blockchain turns everything into tokens, whereas currencies are optional in Holochain, working best where issuance takes place through the actions of peers (like ratings), or as double-entry accounting. Holochain combines ideas from BitTorrent and Git, along with cryptographic signatures, peer validation. Holochain delivers on the dreams of making Decentralized computing easy and real. It provides the underlying cryptographic fabric to maintain data integrity across unlimited peers without requiring consensus Integrity without consensus means: immediate and efficient processing no Proof-of-work system no Proof-of-stake no energy wasted on mining no bottlenecks nor global delays In fact, Holochain is so efficient that you can run over 50 full nodes on a cell phone or a $35 Raspberry Pi computer. Holochain even enables scalable Crypto-accounting to build new generations of asset-backed and value-stable cryptocurrencies. Programmers can leverage our RAD tools (Rapid Application Development) to quickly build fully P2P web applications designed to operate on the scale of Twitter or Facebook with no centralized data Each user just brings their own device to share a small amount of computing and storage.centers or infrastructure. Each user just brings their own device to share a small amount of computing and storage. Holochain meets the demands of people who want to: Own their own data Control their identity Connect applications to suit their needs Transact without centralized systems Build lighter, faster, cheaper applications Holochain Architecture Holochain has a shared DHT in which each piece of data is rooted in the signed hash chain of one or more parties. It is a validating DHT so data cannot propagate without first being validated by shared validation rules held by every node -- like every cell in a human body has a copy of the same DNA. Each holochain has these THREE MAIN SUB-SYSTEMS. Uses of Holochain Holochain is designed to support and embody social coherence -- groups that want to collaborate or coordinate together according to a set of agreements that allow them to share data or other value in reliable ways. Holochains are ideal for: Social Networks, Social Media & VRM: if a user wants to run a social network without a company like Facebook in the middle. They want to share, post, publish, or tweet to shared space, while automatically keeping a copy of these things on their own device. Supply Chains & Open Value Networks: if a user wants to have information that crosses the boundaries of companies, organizations, countries, which is collaboratively shared and managed, but not under the central control of any one of those organizations Cooperatives and New Commons: A user wants to create something which is truly held collectively and not by any particular individual. This is especially good for digital assets. P2P Platforms: Peer-to-peer applications where every person has similar capabilities, access, responsibilities, and value is produced collectively. Collective Intelligence: Governance, decision-making frameworks, feedback systems, ratings, currencies, annotations, or work flow systems. Collab