# 1.1 Built on Hedera

<figure><img src="https://2761158384-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FRPyU9NqHVC5b5WtuEEUH%2Fuploads%2FiqTqAUO6n9QNROgH0Vlj%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=e90dd301-90d3-4a79-8f4c-29fc1a5ef9cb" alt=""><figcaption><p><a href="https://hedera.com/blog/a-new-era-for-hedera">https://hedera.com/blog/a-new-era-for-hedera</a></p></figcaption></figure>

Hedera is a decentralized, open-source, proof-of-stake public ledger that utilizes the leaderless, asynchronous Byzantine Fault Tolerance (aBFT) hashgraph consensus algorithm. It is governed by a collusion-resistant, decentralized council of leading enterprises, universities, and web3 projects from around the world.&#x20;

Hedera’s performance-optimized Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) smart contracts, along with its easy-to-use native tokenization and consensus service APIs, enable developers to create real-time web3 applications and ecosystems that will drive the future of the internet.

Hedera is built differently from blockchains. It has high throughput with fast finality; low, predictable fees; fair transaction ordering with consensus timestamps; and a robust codebase that ensures scalability and reliability at every layer of its network infrastructure. Hedera is governed responsibly by the world’s leading organizations to ensure that the network is collusion-resistant.&#x20;

Recently, Hedera Foundation focuses on community-driven retail innovation and institutional adoption of the Hedera network. It will also foster the growth of tokenization, artificial intelligence (AI), and decentralized finance (DeFi) solutions.&#x20;

With the grant from the Hedera Foundation, SALT team will build a DEX/ DeFi ecosystem on Hedera.&#x20;