What Is Helium (HNT)?

Helium (HNT) is a decentralized blockchain-powered platform for Internet of Things (IoT) devices. As per the whitepaper, the aim of creating the Helium network is to incentivize the creation of physical and decentralized wireless networks.

Many platforms, technologies, and services are transforming into open and decentralized systems from centralized proprietary ones in an ever-decentralized world. Peer-to-peer (P2P) networks are achieved through the introduction of blockchain networks. Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and other digital assets have proved how vital a decentralized transaction ledger is. 

The Helium network is a decentralized wireless network that allows devices worldwide to wirelessly connect to the internet and geolocate themselves with no requirement for power-hungry satellite location hardware or expensive cellular plans. Blockchain powers the Helium network with a native protocoltoken that incentivizes coverage providers and consumers. By introducing blockchain, the platform makes the industry currently controlled by monopolies decentralized. As a result, wireless network coverage becomes a commodity fuelled by competition and available at a low cost. The platform's secure and open-source primitives allow developers to build low-power, internet-connected devices swiftly and cost-effectively. The network has a wide variety of applications across industries.

The platform's key components that enable the platform to function without any hitch are explained as follows. The first element is proof of coverage (PoC). PoC is an algorithm that Helium deploys to verify that a hotspot in the network is physically where it claims and truthfully represents the hotspot's wireless coverage for its location. With proof of coverage, the Helium network and blockchain can leverage the specific properties provided by the radio frequency to proofs useful to the network and users of the network.

The next element is proof of location. Similar to PoC, the Helium network outlines a system that uses WHIP to interpret the physical geolocation of a device without needing power-consuming and expensive satellite location hardware. Devices can make immutable, secure, and verifiable claims about their location at a particular time. And the blockchain can record that.

The third element is Helium Consensus Mechanism. The Helium network’s consensus protocol operates on certain principles.

Firstly, the Helium network allows hotspots working in line with Helium consensus rules and network specifications to participate independently.

Secondly, the network does not provide any incentives for leveraging factors such as the deployment of additional hardware in the same place or cheap energy cost.

Thirdly, the protocol should have the ability to resist Byzantine failures in such a way that consensus is yet reachable so far as participants are acting honestly. In order to achieve this, the Helium network employs HoneyBadgerBFT, a variant of BFT. Briefly, a BFT is a consensus mechanism that ensures that a distributed network will continue to operate even when some of the nodes in the network fail to respond or function maliciously.

Finally, hotspots cannot censor, select, or deselect transactions to be included on the block.

The next element is WHIP. WHIP is a standards-compliant and open-source wireless network protocol created for low-power devices over large areas. It works on existing commodity radio chips available from dozens of manufacturers with no proprietary technologies or modulation schemas required.

The next one is Helium DWN. Helium Decentralized Wire Network (DWN) enables wireless access to the internet for devices by way of several independent miners. The DWN also specifies the Helium network and WHIP specifications by which participants on the network conform.

The HNT token is the native currency of the platform. There are no provisions for pre-mining HNT. The token serves as the medium of exchange between two primary parties in the Helium blockchain ecosystem. They are the network operators and hotspot hosts, as well as enterprises and developers utilizing the Helium network.

History of Helium (HNT)

Amir Haleem, Shawn Fanning, and Sean Carey cofounded Helium in 2013.

Before Helium, Haleem had a long career in the gaming industry as CTO at gaming startup Diversion. He was also a member of the original team behind Battlefield 1942 at DICE in Stockholm, Sweden.

Helium raised $38,800,000 in ICO.

How Are New Helium HNTs Created/Earned?

Helium has made a platform for partial staking. On the platform, users can stake HNT tokens without a minimum amount and split the rewards based on their proportion. Users can track the rewards and monitor status of their HNT tokens using the platform dashboard.

How Many Helium (HNT) Are There?

The total maximum supply of HNT is 223,000,000.

Where to Buy Helium (HNT)

Helium or HNT tokens can be bought at many decentralized exchanges. Coinbase, however, provides an easy way to obtain HNT tokens.