What Is the Hyperledger (Hyperledger Foundation)?

Hyperledger is an umbrella project of open source blockchains and blockchain-related tools started by the Linux Foundation in 2015 to support the collaborative development of blockchain-based distributed ledgers. Initially, the Hyperledger Foundation only included two main projects - Hyperledger Fabric, a codebase combining work by Digital Asset, libconsensus from Blockstream and OpenBlockchain from IBM; and Hyperledger Sawtooth, developed at Intel’s incubation group. At the moment, however, the Hyperledger Foundation is the fastest developing project Linux has launched. 

Through a rich collection of different stable frameworks, tools, and libraries for enterprise-grade blockchain deployments, Hyperledger aims to push the mass enterprise adoption of blockchain technology. 

While cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Etherum rely on permissionless blockchains, the Hyperledger Foundation focuses on creating permissioned enterprise blockchains. What this means is that the blockchains are operated in a private network where participants have an intrinsic benefit of complying with the consensus rules. 

With the launch of the Hyperledger, the Linux Foundation set out five main goals for the project. One of the biggest missions of the project is to create an intuitive, blockchain-based ecosystem for enterprises to communicate internally and between each other. Another important goal for the Hyperledger Foundation is to push educational materials and events in order to showcase the numerous market opportunities for blockchain technology. Because of the innate characteristics of blockchains, the Hyperledger foundation also aims to create a neutral, open, and community-driven infrastructure for businesses. Last but not least, the foundation is striving to promote and build a strong community spirit to help with the further development of blockchain technology in the enterprise field. 

The Hyperledger Foundation has successfully developed numerous real-life use cases and applications for blockchain technology throughout its work and partnerships. Spanning from financial services through supply chain management to healthcare, one of the foundation’s main goals is to introduce blockchain technology to as many industries as possible. 

With enterprise partners like IBM, Walmart, Honeywell, Fujitsu, and Intel, the Hyperledger Foundation is one of the best-recognized blockchain ecosystems globally. As interest in blockchain technology rises exponentially, the foundation is expanding its reach to new industries and various new use cases.