In this article, we are talking about Helium – the project that revolutionized the way the internet will be distributed around the world. So What is Helium then? Keep reading and learn everything you need about this amazing opportunity.
The digital world is evolving and cryptocurrency is gradually becoming more accepted by people and countries. There are a lot of cryptocurrencies and tokens that a lot of people don’t know about. Most people only pay attention to Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Cardano (ADA) to mention a few.
They don’t know about unique and special crypto projects like Helium. Today we are going to be talking about what is Helium and How it works. We are going to share all the important things you need to know about the (HNT) token.
What is Helium mining crypto?
- Website:Â helium.com
- Explorers:Â Helium
- Max Supply:Â 223,000,000
- Twitter:Â helium
- Facebook:Â heliumsystems
- Reddit:Â r/HeliumNetwork
Helium is a blockchain-based cryptocurrency that aims to decentralize wireless infrastructures around the world. The blockchain was designed to provide wireless coverage to the masses. It was launched on July 29, 2019, and after successfully mining on the Helium Network you get rewarded with the HNT cryptocurrency. This might sound confusing let me break this into more details.
Mining Helium is different you don’t need to build a power-hungry CPU or GPU rig that consumes power. To mine Helium, you just need to install some simple devices at a particular place it can be in your room.
Using LongFi technology you are providing connectivity for a class of internet of things by building wireless coverage, after completing the process you are rewarded with the $HNT. There are special devices that are used to carry out the process of Helium mining crypto.
The devices used in mining Helium are placed in any particular place a miner thinks has excellent coverage. Using the proof of coverage that is built into the Helium network algorithm, the amount of $HNT that will be received by a user is calculated after completing the mining process.
The proof of coverage is used to verify and make sure that Hotspots are located where users claim they are. Helium Network is almost entirely open source and the community is responsible for developing and contributing to all parts of the network.
What is Helium mining? Explainer video
How does Helium crypto mining work?
Helium Miners are known as HNT Hotspot miners and there are different gadgets used specifically for mining Helium. They include the Bobcat miner 3000, HNT indoor and outdoor miner, and RAK Hotspot miner. You can buy them online based on pre-order but they usually take some time before arriving at your location.
The Helium Network uses the Proof of Coverage that the algorithm tracks to reward miners in HNT for using radio waves to prove that hotspots are providing wireless coverage to devices. Bitcoin and Ethereum miners make use of GPUs to solve complex formulas that provide the proof of work needed to prove transactions.
Helium miners simply verify that wireless hotspots aren’t telling the truth about their service through the use of radio waves to verify hotspots about their activities.
Some key components of radiofrequency let the Proof of Coverage work. These elements let miners prove the legitimacy of hotspot activity. The components include: Radiofrequency travels at the speed of light, radiofrequency can only travel within a limited physical distance, and the strength of a radio frequency can be used to determine how far away it originated.
Who is the founder of Helium Crypto?
Helium crypto was founded in 2013 by Shawn Fanning, Amir Haleem, and Sean Carey. Their main goal is to make it easier to build connected devices. Let’s take a closer look at the founders of Helium crypto.
Amir Haleem
Amir Haleem is the CEO and co-founder of Helium. He had a career in the video game industry before starting up Helium. Amir served as CTO for gaming startup Diversion, he was also a member of the team behind Battlefield 1942 at DICE Stockholm, Sweden. He is also a former world champion esports gamer and has helped design some games during his time in the gaming industry.
Amir graduated from the University of Manchester in 1999 where he grabbed a BS.C in Artificial intelligence. He is from the united states of America and has played a crucial role in the development of Helium Crypto.
Shawn Fanning
Shawn Fanning is a computer programmer and entrepreneur and in 2013 he co-founded the Helium Network alongside Amir and Sean. He was giving birth to Brockton, Massachusetts on the 22nd of November 1980. Shawn has contributed to other notable projects including Napster, Path, and Rupture.
Sean Carey
Sean Carey is one of the Co-founders of Helium and back in 2013, he joined Amir and Shawn to start the Helium network. He also worked at Brightcove as a system engineer and other notable firms. Sean is not part of the Helium team anymore and at the time of writing, we couldn’t come across the reason he left his role as CTO in Helium.
Currently, the Helium team has over 10 prominent team members that have experience in blockchain technology, distributed systems, peer-to-peer, radio, and hardware technology.
Who are Helium Investors
Since Helium was founded in 2013 the company has had 6 funding rounds and they have raised over $160 million in funding. The Helium network has 20 notable investors that include Ribbit Capital, 10T Holdings, Khosla Ventures, Digital Garage, Multicoin Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and Karnika Yashwant. Helium is been valued to be around $500 million by PrivCo as of August 2021.
Their latest funding round was finished in August 2021 and they raised $111 million from investors in exchange for the Helium token. Andreessen Horowitz is one of the latest investors in the Helium project.
What is the HNT Token
HNT is the native cryptocurrency and protocol token of the Helium blockchain and its symbol is HNT. After successfully mining on the Helium Network miners are rewarded with the HNT token. Each month almost 5 million HNT tokens are issued to miners. A mining period of 30 to 60 minutes unlocks different rewards that are distributed according to a changing growth plan.
As of October 2021, there is a total of 99,094,695 Helium in circulation and it has a market cap of over $2 billion. The total supply of the HNT token will be 223,000,000 and the total number available right now is not even half of the supply.
What is Helium Token Utility? Who will be using it?
The Helium token was created to serve the needs of two main parties in the Helium blockchain ecosystem. Enterprises and developers use the Helium network to connect devices and build internet of things applications. Data credits, which are $USD pegged token derived from HNT in a burn transaction, are used to pay transaction fees for wireless data transmission on the network. Hosts mine HNT while deploying and maintaining network coverage.
The token is being used by developers and enterprises that want wireless data transmission from the Helium network.
Where to buy Helium?
Helium is available for purchase on some top crypto exchange platforms but it cannot be bought with Fiat currency. To buy helium you need to buy either Bitcoin, USDT, ETH, or BNB from the exchange platform of your choice and then transfer it to any platform that sells Helium. It can be swapped for example from Bitcoin to Helium on the same exchange if the HNT token is listed.
The HNT token is listed on
- Binance,
- WazirX,
- FTX,
- Bitvavo,
- Gate.io,
- Crypto.com Exchange,
- CoinEX and others.
Rounding Up
There are over 29,000 Hotspot mining Helium and there is still massive room for growth on the Helium blockchain. Currently, people are slowly understanding the concept of Helium in the USA and Europe, especially in major urban centers. At the moment Australia and India are left out in the mining of Helium but with the level of awareness going on it will soon be available globally.
The major challenge faced by users of the Helium blockchain is the delay of gadgets used for mining Helium after pre-order. If they can fix that problem then a lot of people will join the Helium mining community.
