Understanding Hedera's EVM Differences and Compatibility
Introduction to Hedera's EVM Implementation
Hedera’s EVM-compatible environment enables developers to deploy Solidity smart contracts while benefiting from Hedera’s advanced distributed ledger technology (DLT). Built on hashgraph consensus, Hedera offers unparalleled throughput, deterministic finality, and predictable transaction fees.
However, transitioning to Hedera from Ethereum's EVM requires understanding key architectural differences, tokenomics, and tooling. These differences present both challenges and opportunities, which this guide will help you navigate.
This guide is for:
EVM developers migrating to Hedera: If you are experienced with EVM smart contracts, this guide helps you understand key differences in Hedera’s architecture, tokenomics, and tooling.
Hedera-native developers adding smart contract functionality: If you are familiar with Hedera services and now want to integrate smart contract functionality into your dApp, this guide shows you how these contracts interact with Hedera’s native ecosystem.
High-Level Differences: Hedera vs. Ethereum
The following table highlights foundational differences that may affect your smart contract development workflow:
Consensus Mechanism
Asynchronous Byzantine Fault Tolerance (aBFT), Proof of Stake (PoS)
Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT), Proof of Stake (PoS)
Transaction Fees
Variable gas fees; can be high during network congestion
Governance Model
Governed by the Hedera Governing Council, comprising leading global organizations
Decentralized; governed by the Ethereum community
Native Token
HBAR
ETH
Token Standard
Supports ERC-20 and ERC-721 standards, with Hedera Token Service (HTS) for native token issuance and management without smart contracts
ERC-20 and ERC-721 standards for fungible and non-fungible tokens
Network State Data Structure
Virtual Merkle Tree
Merkle Patricia Trie
Historical Data
Off-chain mirror nodes provide access to historical data and state queries
On-chain stateRoot; historical data can be accessed through the blockchain
Key Management
Accounts are managed using ECDSA (secp256k1) keys
Network Upgrades
Upgrades are proposed through Hedera Improvement proposals (HIPs) and governed by the Hedera Governing Council. Upgrades are backward compatible, not forks.
Upgrades are proposed and implemented through Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs)
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