Holo is a peer-to-peer distributed platform used to host decentralized applications (DApps) created with Holochain, a development method for DApps that doesn't require blockchain. Holo's goal is to serve as a bridge between applications created with Holochain, offering an ecosystem and marketplace where DApps are easily accessible to participants of the Holo network.
In the Holo network, a token called HoloFuel is used as an accounting system to pay hosts for their services. When the project was launched in 2018, an ERC-20 token known as HoloToken or HOT was issued as an "IOU" that could be used for HoloFuel.

Holochain can be defined as an open-source framework created for developing fast and secure peer-to-peer applications. With Holochain applications, user devices connect directly to each other over secure networks, rather than depending on different servers. This eliminates the need for app developers to manage and pay for cloud hosting.
Holochain adopts an intermediary-free approach, focusing on users' computing experiences. This goes beyond being just an appealing philosophy; it's actually how Holochain is built. Applications run on your device, creating identities and data that belong to you. Open APIs ensure you always have access, while consent-based permission controls protect against unauthorized use.
Applications become more powerful when they connect you with others. Each Holochain application forms its own encrypted peer-to-peer network between you and other users. This means nothing can intercept, control, or shut down your communications.
Online security is achieved through mutual accountability. Every piece of data is linked to its author by a cryptographic audit trail, and every user helps enforce the shared application rules, identifying malicious participants. Meanwhile, Holochain's "subconscious" system responds to identified threats and adapts to network failures, keeping the experience safe and reliable.

Holo was founded by Arthur Brock and Eric Harris-Braun, who worked as contract coders. The foundations of the project were laid in December 2016. The project actually started as part of the MetaCurrency Project, a developer of tools and technologies designed to power the P2P economy. Holo is modeled after Ceptr, an earlier project by Brock and Harris-Braun, designed as a collaborative P2P framework for DApps.
Arthur Brock has experience coding alternative currency systems as the founder of Geek Gene, a company that works on developing community-building tools, and is the co-founder of social enterprise incubator Emerging Leader Labs. Its other founding partner is Eric Harris-Braun. In addition, Brock has established the open source training "starter kit" Agile Learning Centers.
Harris-Braun got into programming in 1988 and is the founder of peer-to-peer communication software developer Glass Bead Software. In 2003, he founded Harris-Braun Enterprises, a freelance software development and consulting firm. He also served on the advisory board of the Schumacher Center for New Economics.

Holochain offers an alternative to the internet's dominant centralized systems, preserving users' ability to make their own choices and providing reliable information for action. It protects our freedom to connect with each other while keeping us safe through peer accountability and shared rules.
Holo, along with Holochain, is designed to act as a bridge between users, spotlighting several innovations including the capability to host P2P applications on the internet for users, signifying a significant shift in the landscape of crypto applications and currencies.
The Holo network relies on a host of devices providing storage and processing power for DApps built with Holochain. Hosts either install software that runs in the background, automatically providing extra processing power to Holochain-based DApps, or they operate through specialized machines like HoloPorts. In exchange for their services, hosts are compensated with HoloFuel, a token specifically designed for microtransactions.
The project's business plan focuses on creating a P2P ecosystem of hosts and applications, comparing its intended impact on app hosting to the impact of Uber and Airbnb on the taxi and hotel industries, respectively. Holo earns a fee on HoloFuel transactions, so its revenue model is directly linked to increasing the number of applications and hosts on the network.

Individual Agency: A Holochain app starts with a function of individual agency. You run your own copy of the app, your identity and data are published on your machine, and no transaction occurs without your consent. Every piece of data you create is signed with your unique key and stored in your personal log.
Shared Rules: At the heart of the application is a set of rules defining what valid data looks like. Since every user has a copy, each can hold one another accountable. The rules become a social contract. Malicious actors are identified impartially, and news of their actions spreads quickly, eventually finding themselves outside of the group.
Mutual Sovereignty: With each user of the application having equal authority and responsibilities, a balance between freedom and accountability is struck. We call this mutual sovereignty. This is what allows the application to operate securely without a central server to enforce rules.

Holo conducted an "initial community offering" from March to April 2018, resulting in the creation of 177,619,433,541 HOT, with 133.2 billion HOT (75%) for public sale and 44.4 billion HOT (25%) reserved for the team and the company, in a demand-determined process. Team tokens are not subject to vesting or lock-up periods.
HOT tokens can be swapped one-to-one for HoloFuel tokens. HoloFuel has no supply limit; instead, it has a dynamic structure designed to include a credit system, allowing users to have negative balances. Supply is algorithmically controlled, expanding and contracting in response to relationships between users with negative and positive balances, aiming to keep the token price relatively stable instead of subject to wild speculative fluctuations.

The Holo network serves as a kind of bridge between the centralized internet and Holochain, which doesn't rely on traditional Blockchain technology. Therefore, network security doesn't depend on global consensus. Instead, each DApp has its own set of validation rules and a local hash chain where cryptographically signed records can be stored. When data is transmitted across multiple nodes, randomly selected peers act as validators. These peers receive the data, confirm its adherence to the correct rules, and use a “gossip protocol” to share good data among themselves and alert or blacklist malicious participants.
According to the development team, Holo is designed to be as decentralized as possible. Connections between hosts and applications are protected with end-to-end encryption, and Holo uses a globally distributed server network.