Independent explainer · Asset-backed mutual credit
HoloFuel: money created by something real — computing power.
HoloFuel is peer-to-peer money for the Holo hosting network. Nobody mines it and nobody prints it. A unit only exists once a host has provided real computing capacity and been paid for it.
01What it is
What is HoloFuel?
HoloFuel (HF) is an asset-backed mutual-credit currency. It pays hosts on the Holo network for the compute, bandwidth and storage they provide, and it's backed by that hosting capacity instead of scarcity or speculation. HoloFuel is built by Unyt on Holochain's agent-centric framework and moves directly between peers. No bank issues it, no exchange holds it, and no middleman controls anyone's balance.
-
A
Backed by capacity
Every credit is matched by a promise tied to real hosting capacity: RAM, CPU, bandwidth and storage that someone actually offers.
-
B
Created by hosts, not miners
Units come into existence when hosting is paid for. Nobody earns them by burning electricity or locking up capital.
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C
Net supply: zero
Every positive balance has a matching negative one. The active supply grows and shrinks with real hosting activity.
Not mined. Not printed. Earned by hosting.
02Mutual credit
Every credit is born with a matching debit.
HoloFuel doesn't mint a pile of tokens separately from the obligations behind them. Every payment writes two entries at once: a positive balance for one party and a negative balance of the same size for another.
Add every balance across the network and you always get zero. That's the core rule of mutual credit. It's also why HoloFuel has no maximum supply and doesn't need one.
| Host | +0.85 HF |
|---|---|
| Network capacity account | −0.85 HF |
| Network-wide net balance | 0.00 HF |
Look at the colours on this page. Violet is what's owed and mint is what's earned. The HoloFuel gradient runs between the two and passes through zero.
- Transactions
- 0
- Volume
- 0.00
- Gas fees
- 0.00
Tap to settle one job, then press and hold the second button to stream 0.01 HF payments. No fee eats into them, and the net balance stays at zero.
Negative balances are credit lines.
A negative HoloFuel balance is intentional. How far you can go below zero depends on your track record of delivering hosting, not on collateral or wealth.
- Reliable hosting history
- Proven ability to repay through future hosting
- A larger credit line
If a host stops providing capacity, their negative balance doesn't vanish. It stays on the books as an obligation. The model relies on reputation and peer validation instead of collateral.
A picture of the principle, not the protocol's formula.
03Hosting
Hosts set their own price.
On Holo, anyone with spare capacity can host apps and get paid for it. You decide what your RAM, CPU, bandwidth and storage are worth, because the protocol doesn't fix a price. HoloFuel credits are only minted or moved once a hosting job is actually paid.
8 GB RAM4 vCPU100 Mbps250 GB SSDExample average: 10.00 HF/hour
This is an illustration. The reference price scales the public example (10.00 HF/hour for 8 GB RAM, 4 vCPU, 100 Mbps and 250 GB SSD) by capacity. Real prices depend on the hardware and on what buyers pay. For now, hosting is paid in HOT while HoloFuel's accounting layer is finished.
04Value-stable design
Anchored to the cost of hosting, not to hype.
HoloFuel is designed to be value-stable, not speculative. Its anchor is something real: what a unit of hosting costs. Holo's original 2018 economic model split that cost into two moving parts.
In that model, the three prices are linked. When adoption grows and HoloFuel's price rises, each HF buys more hosting, so the internal price falls. The hosting price, which is what users actually pay, stays level.
- Competition between hosts increases HoloFuel's purchasing power.
- The supply and velocity of HoloFuel reduce internal price competition.
- A reserve price acts as a floor or ceiling, and as a price signal to markets.
Index values from a 2018 model, shown for understanding. This is not a price forecast.
05HoloFuel vs Bitcoin
Scarcity money vs capacity money.
Bitcoin-style tokens get their value mostly from being scarce. HoloFuel gets its value from being tied to work somebody actually did. Here's how the two compare, question by question.
| Question | HoloFuel | Bitcoin |
|---|---|---|
| Where does a unit come from? | Created against real hosting capacity, when hosting is paid | Mined according to protocol rules |
| What backs it? | A matched obligation tied to hosting | Market belief and scarcity |
| Supply | Expands and contracts with real activity; no maximum | Fixed or scripted by the protocol |
| Network-wide balance | Always nets to zero | Units accumulate with no matching liability |
| Zero-sum? | Positive-sum: value comes from hosting work | Gains largely depend on the next buyer |
| Who earns it? | Hosts contributing RAM, CPU, bandwidth and storage | Miners and validators with existing hardware and capital |
| Who sets the price? | Each host, for their own capacity | The exchange market |
| Link to a real good? | Anchored to the cost of hosting | No inherent link to a good or service |
| Transaction fees | Designed without traditional gas fees, so tiny payments work | Network fees paid to miners |
06Built on Holochain
No bank. No exchange. No middleman.
HoloFuel is what its makers call crypto-accounting, but it isn't a conventional blockchain. It runs on Holochain, an agent-centric framework. Every participant keeps their own local chain, and random peers validate each transaction. There's no global ledger for anyone to mine or control.
That design is what makes fee-free micro-payments possible. Nobody has to win a race to write a block, so nobody needs to be paid to do it.
Each dot is an agent with its own chain. When two agents transact, both chains grow and a few random peers check the entry. Tap an agent to make it pay another.
07Status
Is HoloFuel live?
Not yet.
HoloFuel is pre-launch. Hosting on Holo is currently paid in HOT while the HoloFuel accounting layer is being completed.
For now HoloFuel is scoped to hosting. Other real-world networks could adopt the same mutual-credit model later, but nothing like that is live or announced.
08HOT → HoloFuel
One HOT becomes one HoloFuel.
- HOT
- An ERC-20 token on Ethereum, sold in 2018 as a pre-sale claim on future Holo hosting capacity. It's tradeable today.
- HoloFuel
- The mutual-credit currency meant to settle real hosting transactions. It's a utility currency, not a trading asset.
Live migration expected by 1 November 2026
Described as a worst-case date. Full migration terms hadn't been published at the time of writing.
HOT pre-sale. HOT is sold as an ERC-20 claim on future hosting capacity.
Migration test. A large-scale test runs on the Sepolia testnet with mock HOT.
Holo Ventures formed, led by Cameron Burgess.
Live migration expected. 1 HOT → 1 HoloFuel.
Swap window of at least six months, a commitment already made publicly.
09FAQ
Questions, answered.
What is HoloFuel?
HoloFuel is an asset-backed mutual-credit currency that pays hosts on the Holo network for the compute, bandwidth and storage they provide. It is backed by real hosting capacity rather than scarcity or speculation.
Is HoloFuel a cryptocurrency or a blockchain?
It is crypto-accounting, but not a conventional blockchain. HoloFuel runs on Holochain, an agent-centric framework where each participant keeps their own local chain and transactions are validated peer to peer.
Who creates HoloFuel?
Hosts, not miners. Credits are created against hosting capacity and are minted or moved only when a hosting transaction is actually paid.
Does HoloFuel have a maximum supply?
No. Every positive balance is matched by a negative one, so the network-wide net supply is always zero. The active supply expands and contracts with hosting activity.
Is HoloFuel price-stable?
It is designed to be value-stable rather than speculative, with the cost of real hosting acting as its economic anchor. Value-stable is a design goal, not a guarantee.
Can I trade HoloFuel like Bitcoin?
HoloFuel is intended as a utility currency for paying for hosting, not as a speculative trading asset. HOT, the ERC-20 token from 2018, is tradeable today and is intended to redeem 1:1 for HoloFuel when migration opens.
What is the difference between HOT and HoloFuel?
HOT is an ERC-20 token on Ethereum, sold in 2018 as a pre-sale claim on future hosting capacity. HoloFuel is the mutual-credit currency intended to settle actual hosting transactions. The intended conversion is 1 HOT to 1 HoloFuel.
When does the HOT to HoloFuel migration start?
Live migration is expected to begin by 1 November 2026, described as a worst-case date, with a swap window of at least six months. Full migration terms had not been published at the time of writing.
Why can a HoloFuel balance be negative?
Negative balances are intentional credit lines. How far a participant can go below zero is based on their track record of delivering hosting, not on collateral or wealth.
What happens if a host doesn't deliver?
Their negative balance remains an obligation. The model relies on reputation and peer validation rather than collateral.
Is HoloFuel live today?
Not yet. HoloFuel is pre-launch. Hosting is currently paid in HOT while the HoloFuel accounting layer is being completed.
Can I cash out HoloFuel for dollars or euros?
Not currently. Converting HoloFuel to regular currency would need a real buyer or settlement mechanism, and no settlement partners or official cash-out gateways are operating. Holo Limited does not operate token exchange services.
Is Holofuel.best an official Holo website?
No. Holofuel.best is an independent, community-made explainer. It is not affiliated with Holo, Holochain or Unyt, and nothing on it is financial advice.