The Hedera Council has made a significant move toward expanding its global influence by welcoming the Global Blockchain Business Council (GBBC) as its first strategic partner. This landmark partnership connects Hedera with the largest global blockchain industry association, opening new avenues for collaboration and ecosystem growth in the rapidly evolving web3 landscape.
The partnership represents a crucial step in Hedera’s ongoing mission to foster responsible innovation and increase adoption of distributed ledger technology (DLT) across industries. By joining forces with GBBC, which has more than 500 institutional members and 300+ ambassadors across 117 jurisdictions, Hedera aims to enhance its global reach and impact in shaping the future of blockchain technology.
📢 Welcome @GBBC_io as a Hedera Council Strategic Partner!
— Hedera (@hedera) December 16, 2025
GBBC is the largest, leading nonprofit industry association for the blockchain, digital assets, and emerging technology community. As a Strategic Partner, they strengthen the Council’s ability to engage governments,… pic.twitter.com/qugEVSjbT0
Strategic Partnership Model Opens New Doors
The collaboration with GBBC comes as part of Hedera’s newly launched partnership program, which introduces two key categories: Strategic Partners and Community Partners. This initiative allows organizations beyond the core Council membership to engage with Hedera’s ecosystem without requiring formal membership in the Hedera Council.
Shyam Nagarajan, Chief Operating Officer at Hedera, explained the vision behind this program: “By welcoming a wider range of participants, Hedera is not only expanding its ecosystem but also creating new pathways for partners to innovate, gain visibility, and co-create the next generation of decentralized solutions.”
As a Strategic Partner, GBBC gains access to several exclusive benefits, including participation in working groups, workshops, and Hedera Council open sessions. The organization will also receive technical support for use case development and networking opportunities with Council members and industry leaders.
Complementary Strengths and Shared Goals
Both organizations bring complementary strengths to the partnership. Hedera offers its enterprise-grade public network with a unique governance model led by trusted organizations across various industries. Meanwhile, GBBC contributes its extensive network and thought leadership in the blockchain space.
The partnership has already yielded tangible results, with Hedera contributing to GBBC’s 2025 edition of the “101 Real-World Blockchain Use Cases Handbook.” This comprehensive resource serves as a global reference for government agencies, regulators, and central banks, showcasing practical blockchain applications that deliver real-world value across industries and jurisdictions.
Within the handbook, Hedera showcased EQTY Lab, demonstrating how the network supports transparent and verifiable AI development. The Hedera Foundation also contributed by featuring the Hedera Asset Tokenization Studio, highlighting the network’s capabilities in the growing tokenization market.
Building the Future of Web3 Together
The Hedera-GBBC partnership reflects a growing trend of strategic alliances in the blockchain space, where collaboration between leading organizations creates more substantial impact than isolated efforts. This approach aligns with Hedera’s commitment to responsible, transparent, and inclusive governance.
Unlike most public Layer 1 DLT networks that depend on anonymous validators, Hedera uses a permissioned model with up to 39 trusted institutions operating the network’s nodes. Since 2019, the Council has grown from 6 to 31 world-leading organizations across 11 industries worldwide, creating a diverse governance structure.
Through this strategic partnership, both Hedera and GBBC aim to accelerate the adoption of blockchain technology across various sectors, particularly focusing on areas like AI integration, tokenization, supply chain management, sustainability, and digital identity solutions.
Organizations interested in joining Hedera’s partnership program can now apply to become either Strategic or Community Partners, opening doors for broader participation in the growing Hedera ecosystem.
Disclaimer: News content provided by Genfinity is intended solely for informational purposes. While we strive to deliver accurate and up-to-date information, we do not offer financial or legal advice of any kind. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with qualified professionals before making any financial or legal decisions. Genfinity disclaims any responsibility for actions taken based on the information presented in our articles. Our commitment is to share knowledge, foster discussion, and contribute to a better understanding of the topics covered in our articles. We advise our readers to exercise caution and diligence when seeking information or making decisions based on the content we provide.
 as its first strategic partner to enhance blockchain adoption through education, policy collaboration, and ecosystem growth.){kind=link}